Kingdom Hearts IV: Dawn of Dusk
by Emerald Sonata
Summary: Tens years have past since Keyblader Sora, and his friends, defeated Organization XIII and once again save Kingdom Hearts. Now a new darkness is born and another young boy is the key to the outcome of the ensuing chaos. Special Fantasy Crossover.
1. KH4 Prologue

**Any non-original Characters/Powers/Settings/Weapons will be tagged with '*' and will recieve proper detail and sourcing.**

**This is based after the timeline of "Kingdom Hearts II", made by Square-Enix and Disney.**

**__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Kingdom Hearts IV – Dawn of Dusk**

**Prologue**

The door to Kingdom Hearts has once again been sealed from the claws of darkness. The fight for it has long ended.

Organization XIII, and its leader Xemnas, have all fallen to the hands of the Keyblade Wielder, Sora, and his friends. Their plans have faltered and collapsed into dark oblivion.

The Heartless are sealed into the Realm of Darkness, where they shall roam for all eternity.

The Worlds linked together are once again at peace, but now they are once again divided.

As Sora, Donald, and Goofy reunites with Riku, Kaira, and King Mickey, peace has been restored throughout the entire universe. Everyone now returned to their original lives and home, spending the rest of their years in joyous content.

Since peace has returned, the Keyblades forever returns to a deep slumber.

Ten years have passed since the last battle for Kingdom Hearts was fought. Peace still remains strong among the new and old Worlds of the shining universe.

Yet the Keyblades stir…for a new darkness is growing even as we speak…

**__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Author's Notes**

"Kingdom Hearts" game series proudly owned and produced by Square-Enix.


	2. KH4 Fragments

****

**Any non-original Characters/Powers/Settings/Weapons will be tagged with '*' and will recieve proper detail and sourcing.**

**This is based after the timeline of "Kingdom Hearts II", made by Square-Enix and Disney.**

**__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Kingdom Hearts IV – Dawn of Dusk**

**Chapter 1: Fragments**

_Flashes of light and fumes of shadows scattered everywhere. The two great powers clashed together to transform themselves into physical shapes._

_The rays of light formed into a tall and shining armored knight, with a fiery blue key-shaped sword. The fumes of darkness swirled together to form a hooded man with a massive red-edged scythe with a pair of small bat-like metal fins._

_There was also a single boy who stood between them. _

_He had mid-length dawn-golden hair, wore a white and green trimmed vest, a dull yellow shirt, and grey pants. His emerald green eyes flashed with fear and confusion as he stared at the White Knight and the Black Reaper._

_In an instant, the two beings charged forwarded and clashed their mighty weapons around the boy. _

_Sparks danced and rained as the two warriors swerved around and in between the boy, who stood in the center of it all._

_He only spun around to watch the fight from where he stood, in total awe and amazement._

_Suddenly it happened. The White Knight's sword sliced off the Black Reaper's hood. The Black Reaper swung its scythe to shatter the White Knight's helmet._

_The two warriors broke away and landed half a meter in distance away from the boy, right between them. His eyes widened at what he saw then._

_As the half of the helmet of the White Knight melted off and cluttered to the ground, it revealed a familiar emerald green left eye. The boy turned to the Black Reaper. The Reaper's hood was also torn halfway to expose a lock of long white hair and red right eye. The White Knight glared as the Black Reaper stretched a deadly grin._

_They both had identical faces to the boy._

_Horror struck his chest as he staggered across the ground. That was until he stepped at the center of whatever the three were all standing on and it flashed brightly._

_Right under the boy's feet, he stood on top of a large glowing platform in the shape of a heart. One half was pure green while the other was pure red._

_Without warning, the White Knight and Black Reaper charged at each other again. In the end they slashed their weapons at one another, with the boy caught in between._

_Then the entire world went bright white._

*****

A boy bolted upright in his bed and he breathed haggardly. Deep breathes echoed in his dim dark room. He then raised his head to glimpse at a nearby mirror.

Sure enough, the boy he dreamt was himself as those emerald green eyes stared right back at him. He turned away and looked out through an open window.

Beyond the window of a small cottage was a large ocean under a crescent moon. The cottage itself stood upon a peak of a cliff that outstretched over the rolling waters. All was peaceful.

"Another dream…this time…they looked clearer than before…"

The boy rested a hand across his forehead.

Suddenly, a flurry of images flashed across his minds. They were thoughts that he never had before, memories he felt distant to. His head began to rack with pain and stopped his reminiscing.

"These memories…they don't even belong to me…why…"

The wind answered his lonesome voice and he sighed.

"Where am I really from?"

With that, the boy closed his exhausted eyes and gently rested his head against his pillow. Soon, he went into a dreamless sleep. But still, echoes and images continued to haunt him.

*****

The noon sun burned gracefully over the world below its gaze. Clouds lazily wandered around the sun's line of sight as they stretch themselves across the air.

Below the sky's pale blue complexion, stands a large and proud city near the edge of land by the ocean. It was a vastly covered space of concrete and steel that spans across from acre to acre. Buildings towered over the busy streets as hover vehicles streaked by.

This was a World that was linked with the universe. This World is called Oceana City.

A school bell echoed over a large and lively high-school. At the sound, teenagers poured out of their stuffy classrooms and flooded into the long narrow hallways. Teenagers crowded the tight corridors as they retrieved their belongings to depart for home.

Within one class room, a group of friends gathered together with an excited laugh.

"Hey Kyle, you going to A.J.'s weekend pool party!" called the first boy.

"Of course! I invited him…" replied the second.

"But…what about…him…" wondered the third.

"Who?"

The third friend gestured his head to one direction behind him. They all turned to cast around them.

Far off in one corner of the classroom, sat a young boy with mid-length dawn-golden hair. He still sat in a desk, despite the school bell's release, and wrote notes into his notebook.

The boy at the desk casually continued with his studies as the three friends returned to one another with a cold look.

"You kidding? There's no way I'll invite him! He's an outsider!" softly uttered the second.

"No matter how normal he looks, a stranger is still a stranger!" muttered the third.

"It's strange though. There has been no one like him for ages…I wondered why now?" wondered the first.

The third friend shrugged, "Don't know, don't care. Come on let's go home!"

With a hearty laugh, the three friends left the room. Now only the boy at his desk was the last person left inside the lonely room.

He let out a sigh and stopped his writing hand. He leaned back to close a thick textbook, with the words Calculus titled across its thick black face. The boy stowed the textbook into his desk and rose up from his seat. He turned and walked towards an open window and watched the sun dangle high up in the air.

The light shone brightly over his face to reveal his skin to be a rich flesh-peach color. His emerald-green eyes glimmered like gemstones as he stared directly at the sun, unhurt from its gaze.

"Longinus!"

The boy perked his head up with a smile and turned hopefully at the classroom doorway.

A young girl, equal to his age, stood at the doorway with a cheerfully smile. She had long orange hair that curled out at the ends as she wore a pink bandana over the top of her head.

She smiled brightly as the boy, Longinus, smiled back in greeting.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Hannah."

*****

"What? You can't be serious?"

Hannah could not control her voice as she took in what Longinus just mentioned.

"They didn't invite you to another party again? When everyone else was invited?!" she demanded.

The two slowly walked together down a hill, through the streets of the city. Stores and restaurants of all kinds rolled right by them as they strolled down the mildly crowded sidewalks.

Longinus returned a carefree smile and gentle nod as he hefted his backpack over his shoulder.

"Yup…"

"They can't do that! Boy, are they going to have a piece of my mind when I see them first thing next week!" Hannah grumbled. Her right fist was already clenched tightly as Longinus nervously eyed them.

"Uh…don't over do it…"

Hannah gave off a short and haughty laugh, "I'm the class president. I can do what ever I want…" she then smirked, "providing my reasons are good enough…"

Longinus felt even more worried for the boys' future.

"What I can't believe is you!"

Longinus nearly tripped over his own foot. He turned a confused gaze at Hannah, "Me?"

"Yes you!" eyed Hannah, "You don't have to be afraid of what other people say about you, even if you are not from our hometown. I believe people like you deserve freedom and happiness anywhere they wish to live. You should not let people's prejudice be the end of your existence."

Longinus chuckled, "That's why I am so honored to be your friend…"

Hannah blushed and she threw her eyes to the ground, "Th-thank you…"

"Actually," said Longinus. He turned to survey over the city's landscape from where he stood. His emerald eyes twinkled with adoration, "I don't mind calling this place home…"

"Guess again!"

The gruff voice broke the peace between Hannah and Longinus. A heavy hand gripped at his shoulder and hooked him back.

"Longinus!" called out Hannah.

Longinus was then held in the middle of the air. As he hung, he stared dead-in-the eye of a large rotund ruffian with small beady eyes. A stiff smile etched at the corner of his lips.

"Baxter!" breathed Longinus.

The large ruffian held Longinus with only his thick right hand. He glared right at the struggling boy with absolute spite.

"Hey, outsider, didn't I tell you to crawl back to where you came from?"

"Let…go!"

"Take this as your final warning…This city don't need unknown trash like you dirtying this town…"

Longinus struggled a short grin and eyed his captor, "Like…wise…"

For that, Baxter swung Longinus' body into a nearby wooden pole. The boy gasped with pain as he was held in the air again.

Hannah leapt forward at the two, "Let him go!"

Suddenly, two swift figures blocked her path. One was tall and lanky, while the other was broad and muscular. They kept Hannah from continuing any further as they cut off her view from Baxter and Longinus.

"Where do you think you're going, Miss Goody-Two-Shoes?" hissed the tall one.

The other man cracked his knuckles with a look of distaste on his expression, "It's payback time for expelling me!"

"Tully?! Walter?!"

Walter threw a heavy fist at Hannah and she gracefully ducked under the blow. She then drove her right elbow into her attacker's abdomen. He spat out a burst of air as his lungs contracted in pain.

"Creep!" growled Hannah, "You black-mailed my best friend to steal those Final Exam papers for you, of course I had to expel you!"

Walter faltered backward as he held his cringing stomach. Instantly, Tully slithered in between them and jabbed furiously at Hannah.

"This one's for kicking my butt last time!" he sneered. His fist flew, but Hannah instantly disappeared. He let out a gasp of confusion, then one with absolute agony.

Hannah had dodged Tully's blow by leaping to one side. She landed a powerful kick into his stomach and whirled around to kick him again in the back.

Tully fell onto the floor as Hannah straighten, tossing a few strands of hair away from her face.

"That was for picking on the girls from my high-school! You don't even belong there so just stay out of private property!"

"GWAAAAHH!"

Hannah casually took one step back, when Walter charged at her from behind wrapped his arms around thin air. He let out a 'whoops' and Hannah's foot stuck out under him. Walter instantly tripped over and stumbled over to Tully.

Tully had just regained consciousness and was about to fight back. Before he knew it, an eclipse grew over him and ended his fighting spirit with a flat 'boom'.

Hannah patted the dust off her hands with a sigh. She stopped halfway and realized something.

"Longinus!"

"Oi fatty!"

Baxter eyes widened as he heard an arrogant voice behind him. Before he turned his head, a pair of different legs kicked the back of his knees. The ruffian fell forward and loosened his grip around Longinus.

The boy took the chance and grasped for Baxter's wrist.

"Here we go!" called another voice.

Two pairs of hands gripped under Baxter's belt. Longinus, with all of his strength, pulled at Baxter's arm and hurled him into the air, along with the helping hands.

Hannah calmly stared at the fat projectile fly in a descending arc.

Tully had just pried himself from under an unconscious Walter's weight and sighed with relief. That was until another larger eclipse appeared over him. In his final moments, a pair of wide eyes gapped open.

Longinus and Hannah closed their eyes when they were a dull crash. Then all went silent.

Hannah reopened her eyes, muttered a playful prayer, and turned to Longinus with a smile, "Way to go, Longinus."

Longinus sheepishly smiled as he rubbed the back of his head.

A hazel-haired boy with dull yellow eyes appeared from behind Longinus with a cocky grin.

"Of course, he could not have done it without the help of his friends…"

Another boy with dark purple hair stood out from behind Longinus as well. He gave a cheery wave and smiled at Hannah.

"That's correct."

"Well if it isn't Zeke and Maddy," grinned Hannah.

The hazel-haired boy instantly looked annoyed and he took an angry step forward.

"Hey! It's Madison! **Ma-di-son**! Got it memorized?!" he growled. Hannah let out a carefree laugh.

"But I just love it how your mother always calls you by your pet-name, _Maddy_!"

Burning rage fumed off the top of Maddy's head as Longinus nervously stepped away from him.

"I like it too," smiled Zeke.

"WHAT?! NOT YOU TOO!"

*****

Longinus let out a breath of relief as he plopped down across a large and worn king-sized bed.

"Thanks for the save, guys, I owe you one…"

Maddy sat against an old, but whole, truck tire as he balanced himself on it.

"Ah, don't sweat it!" he thumbed.

Hannah gingerly sat upon an old-fashion rectangular chest with faded out silver-framing.

"You can always count on us three to back you up."

Zeke sat near Longinus' bed on a rickety and foldable movie director's chair and grinned.

"Likewise."

The four all sat within a large rundown shack. It stood in the middle of a quiet park, near the woods, and was far from the noises of the busy city steets.

It was wide, roomy, and filled with all kinds of odd objects: broken bowling trophies, tattered curtains, half of a fake polar bear rug, an old leather couch with a quilt covering it, and so on.

Pictures were tightly packed within a single wooden frame. They were photos of Maddy, Zeke, Hannah, and Longinus, together. Each image stilled a special moment of their memories: camping out by a glittering lake, acting and wearing costumes in community plays, playing games at their high-school festival, and so on. Every one of them were neatly placed and gingerly taped against the shack walls.

"Sheesh," grumbled Maddy. He strolled over to one spot next to Hannah and pulled out an old, large, and worn out cooler box. He popped open the lid to let cold steams leak out as he drove his hand deeply into its contents, "Doesn't that Baxter creep ever give up? It's not like he's the mayor of this city to make Long here get out!"

He straightened up and pulled out four cans of ice cold sodas. He kicked the lid shut and shoved it back under its hiding place with his foot. He turned and dropped one cold can into Hannah's bare lap and she nearly jumped with a short shriek.

"Hey watch it! I'm wearing a skirt here!"

"Really? What happened to the jeans you normally wear?" wondered Maddy with passive curiosity.

Hannah's fist gripped tightly as a vein grew across her forehead.

Without even noticing her, Maddy turned to Zeke and Longinus, "Hey! Go long!"

He tossed one soda to Zeke and then tossed another to Longinus. Unaware, Longinus perked his head up from the bed with curiosity.

"Go Long?" Before he knew it, the soda can bounced off his forehead. Maddy flinched with surprise as he felt the pain as well. Longinus stayed quiet as he merely blinked, "Ow…"

"Sorry…" breathed Maddy. Longinus shook off the pain and sat up, grabbing his soda on the way.

In one coordinated movement, they all brought up the soda cans, opened it with a loud hiss, drank a couple of gulps down, and altogether let out a breath of refreshment.

"Ahh! Nothing like a cold drink after a hot fight. Wouldn't you say so Zeke?" wondered Maddy.

He then plopped onto the truck tire and rolled himself closer to everyone.

"I don't mind…but…" Zeke turned to stare at Longinus, who merely stared at the floor and absent-mindedly drank his soda, "I doubt Longinus likes to fight people like Baxter, even if he wants him to leave."

"Pheh, that Baxter…" mumbled Maddy. He took a deep gulp before continuing, "Like I said, no one here has the right to kick Long out, even if he is the only outsider to this city!"

"That's right! It isn't fair for people to force you out of your home here!" added Hannah.

"But I can't blame them…" sighed Zeke.

"Care to say that again?" leered Maddy.

"Have you known any other outsiders than him?"

The question slapped both Maddy and Hannah silent. They turned away with a solemn gaze.

"I mean," continued Zeke, "there hasn't been an outsider since the day this city was made…almost everyone are naturally born here…"

"Darn it, I hate it when you're right…" grumbled Maddy. He finished up the last of his soda and crushed the can. He winced though from a short and painful head-ache, "Ach! My head!"

"Told you not to chug it all done at once…" muttered Hannah.

Maddy threw the girl a look, but she merely continued to drink her soda gently. Longinus held back a chuckle and everyone seemed to have smiled.

"I feel so lucky…" he said, "to have met friends like you three…"

Maddy smiled and coolly grinned, "Like I said, no sweat."

"We're glad to have met you, Longinus. You have made a difference in our lives," replied Zeke.

"Yeah, Longinus! You're a special and unique guy that no one has ever met before!" added Hannah, happily.

"Because I'm an outsider?"

The air in the shack went dead still. No one uttered a word as Zeke, Maddy, and Hannah all turned to look at Longinus with a worried gaze. The next thing they knew, they were all bawling with laughter.

"Ha, ha, ha! Ah…" breathed Maddy, "you bright-head, optimistic monkey…"

"Oh, right!" remembered Hannah, "We still haven't thought of what should we do for this weekend!"

"As well, next Monday and Tuesday will be no school!" added Zeke.

"Which means, we have four days off! Sweet!"

"So, what do you guys propose?" asked Maddy.

"We can watch a movie!" said Zeke.

"There's nothing good this month," interjected Maddy.

"Let's go to the pool!" said Hannah

"Closed for maintenance."

"What about the other…"

"That too…"

"Camping?" wondered Zeke.

"Been there, done that."

A vein grew across Hannah's forehead as she stared at Maddy. The boy merely looked away.

"Alright, _Mr. Picky_, what about you?"

Maddy smiled with an air of arrogance as he narrowed his eyes, "I've got the perfect plan."

"The beach?" wondered both Zeke and Hannah. Maddy fell silent as he froze in his semi-victory pose on the spot.

The two rolled their eyes, "Been there done that."

"I hate you guys…" muttered Maddy.

"How about the amusement park?"

Everyone perked their heads up and turned to Longinus. He gave them all a cheerful grin as his emerald eyes twinkled under a few strands of dawn-golden hair.

"The Wacky World amusement park?" wondered Hannah.

"The place where we all first met?" blinked Zeke. A wide grin stretched across Maddy's face.

Longinus sheepishly smiled again, "Does that sound good?"

"Then in commemoration to our nearly-year-long friendship," he smiled, "let's go to Wacky World straight thing tomorrow morning!"

Longinus smiled as Zeke and Hannah shrugged.

"Why not?" giggled Hannah, "Three cheers!"

"Ei-Ei-Oh!"

*****

Longinus could not help but smile at his current thought. The dusk sun painted a burning-red hue across the left side of his body as he traveled to his home, which stood on the nearby cliff.

He walked down a quiet and empty street that was elevated over the city's glowing red beach. The city beach was a beautiful place for summer fun and excitement and still is despite the current autumn season. The boy took in a deep breath as he inhaled the fresh scent of evening and sea air. A smile stretched on his face.

"It's been a while since we last played at the amusement park…this will bring back memories."

He turned to gaze at the dusk-red sun and he stopped to turn at the ocean. The sea glistened, as if fresh golden treasure lied buried under the shallow waters. The sight captivated his emerald green eyes as he leaned over against the street's metal railing.

"Where did I come from anyways?" he asked himself, as if to a friend, "if I am an outsider, does that mean I belong somewhere else than this place? Another world even?"

The autumn breeze whispered against his ears as he felt the wind play with his mid-length hair.

"If I am from another world…what world would it be?" Longinus let out a sigh and lowered his gaze across the beach.

Suddenly his eyes widened with shock.

*****

He sprinted across the sandy plains as he made his way towards the nearby ocean shores. He skidded to a sudden halt and knelt down with an air of bewilderment.

Before him, against the shore edges, was a young girl. She lied across the sands on her stomach, unconscious and faintly breathed as the oceans washed up to her waist.

"Hey! Wake up!"

Longinus gingerly turned the girl over, to face him, in his arms and held her steady against his knelt left leg.

"Wake up! Come on snap out of it!"

No response, but the girl's breath was steady. Longinus then noticed something about her.

She had long sapphire blue hair and a milky white skin. Her dress was unique and vibrant with various layers of colourful silk and cloth. The dress had a foreign design to it, non-similar to any other dresses that existed in Oceana City.

Another thing he had notice was her hands and feet. Her frail feet were bare and blistered, as if she had walk days-on-end without any shoes. Her wrists had faint red bruises, as if she had been tied up.

"What happened to you?" breathed Longinus.

Suddenly, the girl's orange eyes flew open and she sprang up in sitting position. The action was so abrupt, it made Longinus fall on his bottom as he stared with surprise.

The girl blankly stared out at the ocean in silence, as if stricken with a nightmare. She slowly turned to gaze left and right of the beach, as if to find out where she was.

"Uh…" breathed Longinus, "are you alright?"

The girl stopped looking around her and she slowly turned. She came eye to eye with Longinus as he stared right back.

Then for a moment, the girl was taken aback with bewilderment and her eyes widen even more.

"Miu?"

Longinus blinked.

"Meh...Miu?"

That was when tears weld up in her eyes and she smiled with unknown joy.

"Miu!"

She flung her arms widely around Longinus and hugged him tightly. Longinus himself froze as his cheeks burned deep crimson.

"Miu, Miu! Miu, Miu, Miu, Miu! Miu!"

Longinus was speechless, yet he felt a faint sense of familiarity as she hugged him.

Then for some unknown reason, his arms gently wrapped around the girl as tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"Miu! Miu! Miu!"

"_Forgive me…_"

Longinus suddenly snapped out of his trance. He realized words had just left his mouth, but could not recall the words he had just said, "What was…"

"Miu! Miu!" The girl pulled away, but kept her arms around Longinus' shoulder, "Miu! Miu, Miu!"

"Ah…" uttered Longinus, "I can't understand what you're saying…"

"Miu? Miu?! Miu!" She then pointed at herself and kept repeating herself slowly,

"Miu…Miu…"

"Me…you?" She shook her head.

"Miiiiiiuuuuuuuu!"

"Mi…u…Miu?" wondered Longinus. She happily nodded her head, until she felt a surge of pain across her head. She moaned painfully as tears rolled down her face.

"What happened? Who did this to you?"

The girl, named Miu, cocked her head to one side in confusion, "Miu?"

"Uh…never mind," thought over Longinus, "I'll take you back to my place…if that's alright with you?"

Miu straightened herself and wiped off her tears. She then perked her head up and surprised Longinus with a cute and cheerful smile.

"Miu!"

*****

Hannah gently hummed a playful song as she lightly stirred a wooden ladle in a pot full of tomato sauce. She stood within the small kitchen of her cozy apartment as she tasted the sauce with her slender finger.

"Hmm…" she thought, "I think it needs more salt…"

Hannah was about to reach for a nearby cupboard, when her doorbell chimed the tune she hummed a moment ago. With utmost curiosity, she turned away from the kitchen and headed towards the door.

She then tip toed to see through the door's peephole to peek at the outside world. Her eyes widen and her breath escaped her.

It was Longinus, who stood right outside the door with a strange troubled look. Immediately, Hannah's face went red and she slammed her back against the door.

"L-Longinus? What is he doing here?"

She quickly shook off the thought and turned to a nearby mirror. She took out hair clips of bunnies and butterflies, rapidly combed her hair, and lightly slapped her face to sharpen herself.

Hannah took a deep breath and turned to reach for the doorknob. Her fingers froze before contact, when she remembered a near-fatal mistake.

She threw her attention back to the mirror and stared at her apron of flowers and racoons. She immediately whipped it right off her neck and tossed it into a nearby closet. Again, Hannah took in another deep breath and reached for the door.

Once again she stopped. The girl whirled back to the mirror and noticed another mistake. She was wearing only a loose tee-shirt and a pair of over-long shorts.

*****

Longinus quietly tapped the door again and waited for a response. He then pressed on the doorbell button and heard its echo from inside.

"Maybe she isn't home…"

Suddenly, his body leapt on the spot when the door abruptly flew wide open.

"Longinus?!"

Longinus stared at the open doorway.

It was Hannah, who was dressed in a long sleeved sweater that were wide open around her shoulder, a black tank-top underneath, and a knee-length skirt.

"H-Hannah…were you about to go out to somewhere?"

"No, no! I…just felt a little cold so…" Standing within her stuffy apartment, a single bead of sweat trickled behind her ear.

"Sorry to bother you at this hour, but I need your help," whispered Longinus, with a nervous look.

Hannah leaned her head a little closer in curiosity.

"What is it?

Suddenly the doorbell chime echoed within her house. To Hannah, it broke the moment of silence and she was filled with confusion.

Longinus could not explain it either, but when the doorbell chimed again he turned to his left.

"Hey don't do that, she's already here!"

Hannah slowly poked her head outside of her door.

"Miu!"

"Guwaaaaah!"

Hannah faltered a few steps back and nearly tripped over her own feet. To her utter shock and horror, there at the doorway stood a young girl. She had long sapphire blue hair, round orange eyes, and a cheerful expression on her face.

"Miu!" she waved by thrusting her arm in the air.

"Eh…eh…eh…" uttered a stricken Hannah.

Longinus rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly.

"Uh…Miu, this is Hannah, a friend of mine. Hannah…this is Miu…"

*****

Under the dark night sky, the moon with a Cheshire cat-like grin hung silently in the evening breeze. The landscape of Oceana City was covered with beautiful lights of the city, like fireflies afloat over a tranquil blue pond.

In the far reaches of the mountain outskirts, a figure hiked up to one of the tallest peaks of the mountain formation. The figure let out a tired breath and straightened his body. He glimpsed at the distant city, his dull red eyes gleamed at the very sight. A frown crossed his hidden complexion.

"Lights…" he breathed, "I hate them…"

He stared up at the moon and shielded his eyes from it as if it was the sun itself. A snarl crossed his face

"I wish I could destroy that too, while I'm at the demolishing-this-World part…"

He lowered his gaze and dropped his hand to his side. His other hand held tightly to a thick rope that dangled across in middle air.

The figure gives an irritated breath and he yanks at the rope, "Get up here you!"

A cry of pain came out in a female voice. From behind him, a slender figure emerged and crawled up to where the other figure stood.

"Tired? From all that hiking?" he muttered.

The slender figure collapsed against his feet with a painful gasp. The other figure merely grimaced, "I practically had to carry you up the hill twice and you're still in agony? Give me a break!"

The slender figure struggled to stand, but could only balance her weak body on her folded arms. Without warning she was pulled up to her feet by the tall figure and he held her up in the air by her shoulders. The moonlight washed over her to reveal her appearance.

She wore a unique and vibrant color dress with torn and muddy frills across every edge of her clothing. She had long silver hair and weak yellow eyes as she haggardly breathed. Her hands were tied by a thick rope. Bruises appeared around her wrists and her feet were badly cut from traveling on bare foot.

The moonlight lightly shifted to glare down over the tall figure. He had short silver and black hair with ruby red eyes and wore a dark olive green coat.

"You should be thankful that we need you, Requiem."

He dropped her to her knees as she collapsed to one side, tired and exhausted. She barely uttered a word as tears trickled down the side of her face.

The stranger scoffed and turned to glare at the city. He pulled out a rectangular box, in the shape of a radio communicator device and clicked its speaker phone.

"This is Zaifer here. I've reached the World of Oceana City. Starting tomorrow afternoon, I will begin the first phase of Operation: Black Descent."

He clicked off the device and stared right down at the peaceful city of lights. A smirk etched across his lips.

"I hope they got insurance for this…"

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Author's Notes**

"Kingdom Hearts" game series proudly owned and produced by Square-Enix.


	3. KH4 Smile

****

**Any non-original Characters/Powers/Settings/Weapons will be tagged with '*' and will recieve proper detail and sourcing.**

**This is based after the timeline of "Kingdom Hearts II", made by Square-Enix and Disney.**

**__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Kingdom Hearts IV – Dawn of Dusk**

**Chapter 2: Smile**

"Whaaaa?! You found her on the beach?" cried Hannah.

Longinus sat on Hannah's couch as he returned a nod.

"That's true…"

The two sat together in Hannah's apartment living room. It was a cozy rectangular space, with a thin television, a pair of large comfy chairs, a wide sofa-couch, and a shelf full of books both old and new.

"Wow…I just can't believe it…another outsider?"

"It seems so."

"But why did you bring her here? I thought you said you planned to take her to your house to stay…"

Longinus dropped his stare to the ground. His cheeks were tinged with light red.

"I did…but I realize I lack proper female clothing…"

"Right…" blushed Hannah. Longinus let out a tired breath.

"Sorry to bother you…and thank you for sparing some clothes for Miu…"

Hannah smiled as she gazed at Longinus.

"Your welcome…and don't worry about coming to me for help. Besides I not doing anything in particular…"

Longinus perked his head up for a moment and started to sniff the air.

"Hey Hannah…what's that smell?"

"GACK! MY TOMATO SAUCE!"

Without another word, Hannah frantically bolted to her cloudy kitchen. She nearly tripped on her own bare feet on the way.

"Sorry about the sauce…" called Longinus back apologetically.

"Miu!"

Longinus turned around and he felt his heart skip a beat.

Miu gently skipped out of a hallway and into the living room, dressed in Hannah's clothes. She wore a turtle-neck sweater, a loose knee-length skirt, and a cute twin peak Santa-hat-like toque. Longinus could not help a smile.

"Wow you look amazing,"

Miu smiled with a blush, "Miu!"

She then lightly strode over to Longinus and plopped right down next to him. She was instantly intrigued by the sofa's springiness and dropped down on it one more time. A cheerful giggle followed as she jumped up and down in her seat with excitement. Longinus held back a laugh as he watched Miu bouncing happily.

She came to a stop and noticed a fanned out pile of magazines. They were of movie celebrities and young fashion models. Her eyes twinkled as she gently strokes the books' surface.

"Do you know what that is?" asked Longinus, "It's a magazine." He picked one up and started to flip through its pages. Miu was taken aback and was practically entranced by the flying images. Longinus gladly handed it to her and she immediately flipped through the pages like a toy.

"GUWAAAH!"

Longinus leapt in his seat by an inch and he spun his head to the kitchen. The scream also frightened Miu and she accidentally dropped the magazine. It fell and opened onto a particular page.

"H-Hannah?!" wondered Longinus.

"IT'S NOTHING! EVERYTHING'S UNDER CONTROL!"

Hannah suddenly screamed again when a burst of flames echoed from the kitchen.

Without speaking, Longinus vaulted over the couch. He made his way towards the kitchen door and dashed right through it. Miu stayed where she was with a worried look.

She turned back to the fallen magazine and picked it up. Her bright orange eyes fell on the opened page and her gaze silently twinkled with interest. She stared at a cute girl who was posing in the picture of the magazine. It had the articles of 'smile', how it could always brighten one's day.

Miu cocked her head to one side and rested the magazine onto the coffee table in front of her. She stood up and raised her hands to ear-level. She shifted her hip to one side and turned to a nearby mirror. A mirror hung right above the apartment's fireplace and she saw he reflection. She leaned her head to one side with curiosity as she stared blankly at her projected image.

"Miu?"

"It's fine, Longinus! I'm a big girl now! I should be able to handle my own cooking!"

Hannah lightly pushed Longinus out from the kitchen. A patch of soot was painted across her left cheek and she sneezed.

"But…" uttered Longinus.

The boy was shoved out of the kitchen by Hannah as she smiled, hiding an irritated vein.

"I'm fine," she said in a stronger tone. When Longinus was out of the kitchen, she closed a sliding French door across the doorway. Longinus stared at the door and let out a sigh.

He turned around as he rubbed a patch of soot off his nose. He froze when his eyes fell on a sight in the living room.

"Miu?" he wondered. Miu's body leapt on the spot and she slowly turned, still holding her pose, "What are you…"

"Miu!"

Longinus was suddenly taken aback when Miu smiled. Her very figure was the exact same as the image in the magazine. She smiled and held her pose with delight as Longinus lost his sense of speech

"Miu!"

"Uh…wha…" stuttered Longinus. He slowly felt a tickling sensation crawl up his spine. For a moment, he felt like he wanted to laugh.

Miu stopped smiling and stared at him in disappointed confusion. She quickly turned back to the magazine and flipped through the pages again. This time she stood back up and posed again.

She straightened and place two index fingers at the corners of her lips. She smiled widely with a sense of bliss. In another pose, she bent forward playfully and leaned on her arms against her knees. She gave toothy grin.

"Miu!"

Longinus was frozen on the spot, not knowing what to say. Slowly, just ever so slowly, his lips began to twitch. He started to lightly chuckle, but it suddenly burst out into a delightful laughter. Miu eyes widen with joy as she watched Longinus laugh whole heartedly. The boy staggered on the spot as he held onto his stomach, bawling over in delight.

The French door to the kitchen slid opened. Hannah took a step out and leaned against the door with a breath of relief.

"Thank goodness the dinner was saved…"

That was when a familiar voice laughed in her ear. In bewilderment, she spotted Longinus leaning against the wall and laughed like a child.

Hannah then turned to Miu. She too happily giggled as she playfully posed some more. Longinus reared his head back in laughter as tears grew at the corner of his eyes. Hannah was shocked, for she had never seen Longinus this happy before.

Her lips twitched as she heard his laughter, so young and carefree. Soon, her laughter joined them in a blissful moment of happiness.

*****

Longinus gently rested his fork against his emptied dish of spaghetti and tomato sauce. He uncomfortably dabbed at his lips with his napkin. Miu had just finished up a tasty strand of spaghetti and she smiled with a sufficed appetite.

The three sat together at Hannah's wooden dinner table. They had enjoyed a delicious pasta dinner, compliments of Hannah.

Hannah had just replaced her glass of water as she too brightened at Longinus and Miu.

"Was it alright?"

Longinus snapped out of his thoughts. He nervously stared at his plate.

"Y-yes…" he whispered, "again, I'm sorry to trouble you with dinner…"

"Don't be silly," comforted Hannah, "I wanted to treat you to my cooking, since you're always so honest…I would never trust Maddy to try it, he would always complain how my food is too salty."

Longinus attempted a faint smile. Miu wiped her mouth clean and happily drank down her remaining glass of Soya milk. When finished, she let out a breath of refreshment and gestured it towards Hannah with yearning eyes.

"Miu!"

"What? You want more?" blinked Hannah in disbelief, "that's already your third helping…"

Miu cocked her head with a grin, "Miu!"

"I think she likes it," said Longinus.

"Well that's too bad…I'm fresh out of Soya milk…"

Miu's expression flattened with childlike disbelief.

"Miu…" she whimpered.

"I'm sorry for the milk too…I owe you too much…" whispered Longinus.

"Please, stop that! You don't owe me anything…you're my friend and I don't mind…"

Suddenly Longinus stood up from his seat and turned to a nearby clock.

"It's not that late…I'll run down to the nearest store and get you more groceries…"

Hannah stood up as well, which caused Miu to stare at them with confusion. She gazed down at her empty cup and a light solemn frown of understanding appeared on her face.

"It's okay, Longinus…you don't have to..." said Hannah.

"Please…or I wouldn't feel at ease to have bothered such a good friend…"

Hannah's voice trailed off as she stared deeply at Longinus cheerful emerald eyes. The young boy returned a hopeful smile, which made Hannah blush a little.

"Miu…"

The two turned to Miu, who had just stood up. She apologetically hung her head and did a light and thankful bow. Longinus and Hannah were taken aback as Miu stood back up, a drop of tear clung to the corner of her eyes. She felt as if it was her fault to make Longinus repay Hannah. The boy gave Miu a reassuring grin.

"It's okay, Miu. I'll go down to the store to buy some more Soya milk. Can you wait here with Hannah until I get back?"

Miu hesitated before she slightly shook her head. She looked like she wanted to come with him.

"Don't worry," comforted Longinus, "I'll be back…take care."

Miu hesitated again, but this time she nodded with a trusting smile. The young boy then left the dinner table and out the apartment door. Hannah and Miu stared at the closed door and the air went silent for a moment. Hannah sighed and shook her head.

"You don't have to feel guilty for everything you do, Longinus…"

*****

A large neon-lighted sign floated in the middle of the night air. The building that held the sign in the air had its bright bowels crowded with people that roamed the nightly hours. Trolley carts squeaked and creaked as their masters of all age and size commandeer them through mazes of produce and groceries. Along the chilly aisle of dairy produce, it was mildly crowded with nightly shoppers.

There was one particular young man who scanned the cold aisle with a pair of neutral blue eyes. He was tall in height, wore a long red coat with an extended collar, a small grey scarf around his neck, and had unkempt jet-black hair.

He gazed at the dairy produce from the corner of his eye and stared at a pair of containers. One was margarine while the other was butter. He turned and held them close towards him, one in each hand.

He turned to stare at each one, silent and preserved as if in deep thought. That was until a hand reached down before him to grasp at single carton of Soya milk.

"Hold it…" uttered the stranger with a deep tone.

The boy with mid-length, dawn-golden hair, and emerald eyes stopped his hand and stood straight up to eye the stranger.

"Y-yes…"

"What is the difference between margarine and butter?" asked the red-coated stranger.

"…I'm sorry?" The stranger did not turn his gaze, but merely gestured at the contents in his hand. The boy took a moment to think, "Uh…well…all I know is that…butter is made from cow's milk and…margarine is not…"

The stranger had no reply but continued to stare at the two containers. His eyes then narrowed, as if passively exhausted.

"I hate cow milk…"

The next second, he tossed the butter container back to its original spot, perfectly, and dropped the margarine in his shopping basket. In one smooth motion, he snatched up the last Soya milk carton and turned to leave.

"W-wait!"

The stranger's steps came to a halt. He then turned around to look at the boy with the same neutral expression.

The boy nearly stammered, but forced his words out.

"I…need that…"

The stranger made no reaction. Without any words in return, he pulled out the Soya milk carton and skilfully tossed it to the boy. With equal grace, the boy caught it with a single hand and nodded a 'thanks'.

"When you want to say something, Longinus, speak up," replied the stranger with a monotonous voice.

Longinus eyes widen as he felt something pull at his nerves.

"You…know who I am?"

The stranger in the red coat fully turned, his dull blue eyes reflected quietly against the aisle lights.

"Forgotten me already?" Longinus took a long and quiet moment to recall his thoughts. His eyes widen with realization and he stared blankly at the man in front of him.

"A…Andrew?"

"…Aegis, but close enough…"

"Sorry…" uttered Longinus. The stranger, named Aegis, then began to leave, "Wait! I forgot to thank you!"

Aegis stopped and turned back, "For what?"

"For saving me…you know when you found me by the cliffs, outside of the cities' reach…"

Aegis stayed silent as he kept his constant expression directly to Longinus.

"I still can't remember what happened back then…I was glad when you helped drove off those pirates you mentioned…I could have died if they had kept hurting me…"

Again, Aegis stayed silent.

"What exactly happened on that day a year ago?" wondered Longinus with gentle yearning.

"Some memories are better left forgotten," replied Aegis bluntly. Longinus fell silent as his eyes softened.

"I see…"

Aegis then turned away and strode off from Longinus' presence.

"Don't hurt or bother yourself for those little details…or you'll regret it for the rest of your life…"

Longinus nodded in understanding as Aegis disappeared within a crowd of shoppers. The boy then lowered his silent gaze to the checkerboard floor.

"I understand…but how am I suppose to find out where I truly belong to…

*****

A knock came at Hannah's apartment door and she quickly opened it. There stood Longinus, who carried four heavy bags full of groceries with a calm smile.

"I'm back…"

"Silly, you didn't have to buy that much!" quietly exclaimed Hannah.

"Sorry…I snuck a peek into your fridge just when I entered the kitchen. I thought this would suffice…"

Hannah merely shook her head with a forgiving smile.

"Come on in…" she grinned.

Longinus struggled to enter as he rested the bags across the floor. As Hannah gently closed the door, Longinus noticed the living room to be dim and quiet.

"Where's Miu?" he asked.

Hannah hid a smile and she quietly pointed at the couch. The boy gingerly strode towards the couch and could not help a smile.

Miu was fast asleep and hugged an opened magazine against her chest. Both the floor and table were full of magazines of models and young girls posing happily within the photos.

"When I was busy cleaning the kitchen, she seemed to be practising how to look good to make you laugh like a child again…" smiled Hannah.

Longinus blushed as he knelt by Miu's side. He held out a hand to touch her head, but hesitated. Eventually, his hand lightly stroked against Miu's head and she smiled comfortably in her dreams.

*****

"Thanks for everything," apologized Longinus.

At the opened apartment door way, Longinus carefully exited. Tightly wrapped around his back was a sleeping Miu as he carefully stepped out of Hannah's apartment home.

"Here," gestured Hannah. Longinus stepped out onto the condominium outdoor corridor, while he balanced Miu across his back, and turned to meet Hannah's gaze. She gently passed him a bag full of comfortable clothes, "These are some extra clothes I can spare for Miu. I hope they help."

"Th…thank you," uttered Longinus.

"Oh right." The young girl quickly opened a nearby closet and frantically rummaged through various shoe boxes. In minutes she pulled out a brand new pair of ankle-zipper and leather women's boots. She drew out a clean bag and gently stashed them into it. Hannah had also placed the carton of Soya milk into another bag and handed them all to Longinus' arms.

"She'll be needing shoes for tomorrow, right?"

"T-tomorrow? Isn't that when Maddy and Zeke will meet with us at Wacky World?" wondered Longinus.

Hannah smiled widely, "Yup, why don't you bring Miu along? The more the merrier…"

Longinus was taken aback by the offer and felt a heavy sense of hesitation clouding his thoughts.

"I…"

A gentle finger rested on his lips. Hannah sweetly smiled as she lightly tapped her finger against Longinus' lips.

"Not – another – word," she tapped, "don't worry about Maddy and Zeke, I know they'll be thrilled to have another companion. If not, I'll cover for you." With that she winked and withdrew her finger.

Longinus felt his insides twist and turn and he suddenly looked away. He fought back an urge of tears as he bit his lip and breathed slowly. He felt extremely happy to have met Hannah and everyone else. Finally, he turned back and smiled thankfully at Hannah.

"Alright, I'll bring Miu tomorrow too. Good night…"

"Good night."

Longinus then carefully curled his arms through every bag's handle and held tightly onto the slumbering Miu. With a light heft of her body against his back, he took careful steps forward and walked off.

Hannah took a step out her door and smiled tenderly at Longinus' departure.

"Even if you forget where you came from, Longinus…Maddy, Zeke, and I will always give you a happy and cheerful life…especially Miu…"

*****

Aegis quietly stared at the dark blue sky. He sat upon the roof of an empty and old rickety house. He silently spread margarine against a piece of toasted bread. The young man took a small bite off from the toast's corner and silently chewed on his thoughts.

The moon above shone brightly with a Cheshire cat grin, balanced on one side. The starry night sparkled vibrantly as faint clouds made dark blue patches against the deep navy sky. Aegis swallowed and kept staring at the moonlight.

"Strange how he's so different now…ever since our last encounter…"

He took another bite of his toast and in short seconds he gulped it down.

"But if _he_ does show up again…I'll be waiting…"

He engulfed the rest of his toast and began to spread margarine against another one.

"If my guesses are correct, Recon1XI should be here by now…"

Aegis stopped what he was doing altogether and stared up at the dark night sky.

"Looks like its time for me to break up their Operation: Black Descent again…"

****

**__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Author's Notes**

"Kingdom Hearts" game series proudly owned and produced by Square-Enix.

[**Recon1XI**: Pronouced as (Recon111). Unable to give definition at this time.]


	4. KH4 Anniversary

****

**Any non-original Characters/Powers/Settings/Weapons will be tagged with '*' and will recieve proper detail and sourcing.**

**This is based after the timeline of "Kingdom Hearts II", made by Square-Enix and Disney.**

**__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Kingdom Hearts IV – Dawn of Dusk**

**Chapter 3: Anniversary**

_Everything he saw around him was completely hazy and blurry. Nothing was clear enough for any sense of detail. He only knew he stood before a small group of people in a strange tall chamber._

_The crowd before him were made up of unique individuals. He felt like he knew them as he eyed them one by one. They eyed right back at him, only they did not share the same sense of curiosity of confusion._

_They were shocked and surprise, afraid even. _

_He felt a smile crept across his lips. It frightened him, for that smile was not natural to his original behaviour. He felt a deep resonance of malice coming from both his grin and himself._

_His hand flew out to grasp a tall object. It was a weapon, but he could not tell what it was. He instantly swung around, along with that tall weapon._

_His heart skipped a beat, but he still felt a vicious air of sadistic delight swell inside himself. He had severed a tall man at the waist, who had stood behind him, with a single blow. He lost his voice, but somehow he heard his own dark chuckle._

"_This is my story…there's no way I'm gonna let you be the main character…"_

*****

"HAH!" awakened Longinus.

"Miu?!"

Longinus flew his hands against his face, stricken with horror. His hands could not help but shake.

"A nightmare?"

"Miu!"

Longinus snapped out of his terrified stasis and turned to his left. Beside him sat Miu, who stared right at him with confused and anxious eyes. She rested her tender hands on Longinus' left arm. He felt a soothing sense of peace come from her touch and he slowly breathed. He finally realized where he was.

Miu and Longinus sat together on a bench of the running city-train. It lightly rocked side to side, as a couple of passengers stared at him awkwardly. A tinge of red painted across Longinus face and he faked a cough.

He must have slipped into a short nap along the way, he thought. But even the faint thought of what happened made him shiver.

It was dim, besides the train lights, as the boy watched the rushing dark walls of a tunnel. He took a moment to shake off the thought, as Miu kept her hands on his arm.

"Miu!"

Longinus turned to Miu just as she released his arm. She pulled her two index fingers to the corners of her lips and stretched a wide smile. Longinus instantly burst out laughing. The eeriness of his dream wore off as he smiled at Miu.

"Thank you…"

Suddenly, a flood of bright light flushed into the train from all the windows. Miu's eyes stung for a moment. When her sight adjusted to the brightness, her eyes widened at the outside world.

The train swerved across its monorail track as it allowed Miu to gaze at the scenery of Oceana City. It was another peaceful morning and the streets below were already busy. Ant-like people could be seen going on with their daily lives, as the train continued on its track. Miu let out an excited giggle.

"Miu! Miu! Miu!"

She bounced up and down on her seat as her eyes glittered with interest. Longinus could not help another smile.

Finally, the train came to stop at a station. Once the doors opened wide enough, bodies poured right out over the station platform. Within the sea of busy people strolled Longinus and Miu together, happily hand-in-hand.

*****

"Oi! Over here!" waved Maddy.

Longinus had just appeared over a long flight of staircases as Maddy spotted him. Zeke and Hannah were also with Maddy as they smiled. The three waited right in front of the large candy-cane gates of Ocean City's biggest amusement park, Wacky World.

"Sorry I'm late," called Longinus.

The boy approached his three friends, as a shy someone hid behind him.

"Ready to get some serious game on?" laughed Maddy.

"We've already got the entrance tickets," added Hannah.

"Yeah, but why five tickets, Hannah?" wondered Zeke.

"Miu?"

Maddy and Zeke froze at the strange voice. Longinus sheepishly smiled as Hannah grinned. Gently, Miu popped her head out from behind Longinus and shyly stared at Maddy and Zeke.

"Wah! Who's she?!" demanded Maddy.

"Another…friend?" blinked Zeke.

"Yes!"

The two boys turned to Hannah as she placed on a smile, "She's the surprise I told you guys about!"

"WHAT?!" they cried.

Miu retreated back behind Longinus. He smiled with anxiety from Maddy and Zeke's overall reaction.

"Uh…Miu right?" wondered Zeke, "do you live here in Oceana City?"

"Miu?" wondered Miu from behind Longinus' back.

Maddy frowned as his eyes narrowed darkly.

"I see…so you're an outsider too…"

Longinus fell silent as Miu slowly peeked out from behind him.

"Miu…"

Hannah felt her anxiety get the better of her. A bead of sweat trickled down the back of her neck.

Maddy kept staring at Miu with unknown hostility as the tension grew thicker around everyone. Suddenly, his expression faltered into a cocky grin. He then burst out with a hearty chuckle.

"Hah! Just joshing with ya!"

Longinus finally released the long held breath of his. Miu shyly stepped out from behind to expose her full profile.

"Welcome to the club! Name's Madison, nice to meet ya!"

"Nice to make your acquaintance, my name is Zeke."

Hannah released a deep sigh of relief. She recomposed herself again and gave Miu a friendly smile.

"Miu!" bowed Miu in greeting.

Maddy and Zeke fell silent for a moment.

"Oi, Long, does she always say that?" raised Maddy's eyebrow.

Longinus sheepishly grinned and rubbed the back of his dawn-golden hair.

"I guess so…"

Zeke and Maddy exchanged glances. A moment later, they shrugged it off.

"Ah whatever…" Maddy then threw his fist into the air with a confident smile, "let's get this One-Year Friendship Anniversary party started!"

Everyone then gave a big cheer.

"Ei-Ei-Oh!"

"Miu!"

*****

"Eat this!" hollered Maddy.

He gripped his long rifle at the ready and took a steady aim at the monster before him. Without any ounce of hesitation, he pulled the trigger and the bullet soared at the head of the beast.

"Direct hit!" Then to his horror, the bullet lightly bounced off the metal skull of his target and harmlessly landed onto the ground, "WHAT?!"

Zeke chuckled as he stood right up to Maddy. They both stood before the park's rifle target-shooting range. Maddy winced at the flat figures of metal targets in the shape of bears, dinosaurs, and monsters. As they rolled by on mechanical chains, they all mocked him with their wide beady eyes and cartoonish grins.

"My turn!" smiled Zeke.

"I still got a couple more rounds left!" snapped Maddy.

Suddenly, a rifle next to them barked off several rounds. Each precise shot caused numerous targets to fall over with a creak.

The two stunned boys turned to Hannah. She pulled up the rifle to her lips and blew the smoke out with a smirk, "Bulls-eye…"

Her success was cut short.

Another rifle shot at its targets and annihilated them all in a flash.

Dumb stricken, Maddy, Zeke, and Hannah all turned to their left. As bells rung wildly over them, the corner-tender presented a large white bunny to Longinus. He sheepishly grinned as he rested the rifle and turned to Miu.

"Here," he presented.

Miu wrapped her arms around the soft bunny with a happy giggle.

"Miu!"

"Wow he's good…" uttered Maddy.

*****

"Out of my way!" smirked Hannah.

She steered her miniature red race car around a tight corner. She struggled against the controls as she had a face-off with her opponent, Maddy.

"Fat chance!" he growled. Maddy tightly swerved around Hannah's turn as he drifted across the concrete in his blue kart, "Slow poke!"

Without warning a small green race car zipped right in between them and caught them off guard.

"WHAT?!" The two cried.

They lost control of their steering and collided together with a light crash. To their pain and dismay, the green car had crossed the finish line.

As a race-bell rung, Maddy and Hannah struggled out of their cramp go-karts and stared at the victor who rose from his kart. The rider with dark purple hair turned and smiled cheerfully.

"Sorry, guys…" waved Zeke.

A gloomy expression fell over Maddy and Hannah as they turned to look behind. Unable to accept the fact, both Longinus and Miu were the last pair of racers, out of the eight, to cross the finish line.

"Easy on the gas…that's it. Brake when you need to," taught Longinus patiently.

"Miiiiuuuu…" whimpered Miu.

Hannah and Maddy sighed simultaneously.

*****

"Here I go!" called Zeke.

He raised a heavy mallet over his head and swung down on the large metal button. In reaction, across a tall metal meter, a small iron weight flew up to soar up across the tower's height.

Across the tall board, it was divided into several section which were: _'Wimpy'_, _'Frail'_, _'Average'_, _'Super'_, _'Hercules'_, and _'Almighty'_. Before the weight could reach over the _'Super'_ level, it dropped straight back down.

"Oh…"

"Step aside and watch the _'Almighty'_ at work!" grinned Maddy. The boy swiped the mallet out of Zeke's hand and bumped him over with his hip. Maddy swung the mallet over his head and let out a loud battle cry.

"EIYAH!"

With a mighty blow of the mallet, Maddy struck the metal button. He then charm fully grinned with an air of victory.

"I win…"

"It didn't even pass the first one…" muttered Hannah.

"WHAT?!"

Maddy looked up to see the weight five inches below the _'Wimp'_ level,

"DARN IT!" In utter defeat, Maddy gloomily tossed the mallet's handle into Hannah's outstretched palm.

"Well then..." Hannah smirked, "HERE I GO!"

She smashed the mallet against the button. The button practically sunk deeper than its limit and the weight soared right up. It clashed into to the bell, the _'Almighty'_ level.

Longinus and Miu applauded with Zeke as Hannah swept back strands of hair with style. Maddy went dumbstruck with horror.

"WHAAAAAAT!?!"

*****

"I won't lose!" hollered Maddy.

He smashed a smaller mallet against a board with multiple holes. His face cringed with anger on every hit.

A buzzer blared and he stared up at a scoreboard. For thirty minutes, had had successfully hit one mole from the holes.

"Blasted rats…" He then tossed the heavy mallet across the board and Longinus approached it.

"Here I go."

He took the mallet and pressed the _'start'_ button. In minutes he struggled to keep up the super-fast moles. They swiftly popped up and shrunk back down before Longinus could even get a good look at them.

He was reluctant to hit five within the time limit, until the buzzer ended his turn. He sighed and he gently rested the mallet against the board.

"Oh well, it was worth a try…"

"Miu?" Longinus turned to Miu, who curiously stared at the Whack-A-Mole console.

"Want to try?" he asked.

She cocked her head to one side, "Miu?"

"Just grab the darn hammer and whack them to your heart's content," gestured Maddy with irritation.

Instantly, Miu's large bunny was shoved into Maddy's surprised arms.

"What the – HEY!"

Not noticing Maddy's annoyance, Miu innocently approached the console. She stared at the mallet before taking it into her hand. Hannah helped to press the _'start'_ button and Miu readied herself with a sudden air of confidence.

The first moment a mole popped out, Miu hit it square right on its head. Then another one came out and she bopped it on the head as well. With determination, she smacked every single mole that appeared until the buzzer blared.

The air went right out of Maddy, Zeke, Hannah, and Longinus. Miu could only breathe haggardly and looked up at the screen with curiosity. She cocked her head to one side, unable to understand the words before her.

In big bright lights, the number _'100%'_ flashed.

*****

"Ah, I'm exhausted…" sighed Maddy.

He laid down across a bench of a table as Hannah arrived to set down cold drinks.

"Tuckered out already? I thought you were made for this stuff," she guiped.

Maddy threw a snarl at her as Zeke calmly sipped on his soda through a straw.

"Don't worry. If we can't cover everything here today, we could always come back tomorrow," implied Zeke.

"Can't. Got a part-time job to worry about…Man, selling clothing is really not my style…" muttered Maddy.

"And tomorrow I promised to help do some spring cleaning back at school…" sighed Hannah. She played with her straw for a moment until she turned to her right.

"What about you, Lon…" She suddenly realized that Longinus was not with them. Neither was Miu.

"Hey, where did Longinus and Miu went off to?" she asked.

"Them?" wondered Zeke, "I think they told me that they were going to get their fortunes told or something…"

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Author's Notes**

"Kingdom Hearts" game series proudly owned and produced by Square-Enix.

**Joshing:** Another way of saying joking. Slangish, mostly heard during high-school years.


	5. KH4 Reminiscence

****

**Any non-original Characters/Powers/Settings/Weapons will be tagged with '*' and will recieve proper detail and sourcing.**

**This is based after the timeline of "Kingdom Hearts II", made by Square-Enix and Disney.**

**__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Kingdom Hearts IV – Dawn of Dusk**

**Chapter 4: Reminiscence**

"Well that was…strange…" uttered Longinus.

"Miu…" breathed Miu.

The two strolled down a path by several souvenir shops. They had just visited a nearby Fortune Teller and Longinus tried to ask for his future, or past. After the Teller had attempted to read his fortune, he instantly went into a frighten state of shock. After that, the Teller sent both Longinus and Miu away. As the two left, the boy could have sworn he heard the Teller instantly packing up his tent and belongings.

Longinus shrugged and turned to Miu.

"Where would you like to…" The girl was not by his side, "Miu?"

Miu stood in front of a large window. Crystal necklaces and figurines were displayed beautifully behind the glass. Her eyes sparkled from the rainbow-like glimmer they gave off.

Longinus was about to walk over to her, but stopped halfway at a peculiar sight.

He turned his gaze away to see a young girl, who stood at the ridge of a nearby pond. She had long silver hair and distraught yellow eyes. To the boy's surprise, she had worn a familiar designed dress.

It was the same kind that Miu wore when Longinus found her by the sea.

The silver-haired girl treaded her slender fingers through the pond. Majestic white and orange fishes fluttered up to her fingers, as if to kiss them. She blankly stared as she lightly stirred the rippling waters.

"Uh…excuse me?"

The girl stopped and turned. She came face to face with a young boy, with dawn-golden hair and emerald eyes. He gave a shy smile.

"Um…can I ask you something?" wondered Longinus.

She blankly stared at him as he drew closer. He sat down right next to her against the pond ridge and shyly gazed at her.

"Where…did you get that unique dress?"

The girl stayed silent. She gingerly pulled out her fingers from the pond and rested her hands on her lap. She stared deeply into Longinus' emerald green eyes, as if to see something through them.

"Longinus…"

Longinus felt the air bolted right out of him. He stared right at the girl as soon as he heard his name from her.

"How did you…"

A slender finger rested against his lips. Longinus stared at the girl his cheeks burned crimson.

"My sister…is she…"

"_She's safe…_"

Longinus woke up from his trance. Again, he spoke in another voice of his and he tried to recall what he said, "Wha…"

"Thank you…"

The boy turned his eyes to her. She gave a tender smile and released her finger from his lips. His cheeks started to fade back to color, but suddenly went deep dark red again.

She kissed his cheek before he realized it. Longinus' eyes widen and his body went still. The girl with silver hair pulled away and stared deeply with her hopeful gaze. She held onto his hands in hers.

"Please…save my other sisters…" With that, she released her hands from Longinus, stood up to her full height, and strode away.

Longinus bolted to his feet and tried to call back to her.

"Wait! Who are you?!"

From the waves of pedestrians, she turned back to him. He was taken aback by a drop of tear at the corner of her eye. She then spoke, but he could not hear what she said.

"What?" he breathed. Soon, the silver-haired girl turned away and disappeared within the ocean of people.

"Wait!"

"Miu!"

Longinus snapped out of the pandemonium within his head and turned to the familiar voice. He saw Miu, back at the souvenir shop, who happily waved at him to come over. She looked like she had not seen the other girl.

Longinus took in a shaky breath and approached Miu.

"Miu, do you have a−"

"Miu!"

The last thought was drowned out with curiosity and he stared at Miu. She was captivated by the crystals on display as she tried to get Longinus closer. As she gently pulled him, the boy eventually forgotten what he wanted to ask.

"Miu! Miu, Miu!" she said ecstatically. Longinus turned to look at the glass as well. He too was captivated by the crystal items on display, with the sun beaming down on them.

"They're beautiful…"

He felt drawn to the crystals as sparkling light danced over them. That was until his eyes were locked onto one certain crystal necklace.

It was a clear-rouge colored and heart-shaped crystal attached to a thin red chain. It dangled from a nearby hook and gently hovered in the air. This necklace seemed to have captivated Longinus as his emerald eyes twinkled with it.

_'Kingdom Hearts*…' _

Longinus' eyes widen and lightly gasped. A moment ago, a strange voice had echoed into his mind.

"Miu?"

The boy woke up from his thoughts and turned. He saw a worried look on Miu. He quickly recomposed himself and place on a smile.

"It's nothing, I'm fine…" Longinus finally eyed at the crystal heart again.

"Would you like me to buy one for you?"

*****

"Requiem! Where are you?!"

Through the sea of bodies, a head with black and white hair ran about. It finally broke from the thick stream of pedestrians to reveal his furious ruby red eyes.

"Darn it, where is she?" grumbled Zaifer, "I go for a quick nap and the next thing you know, she's gone!"

Zaifer stormed across the ground. He suddenly stop and vented his frustration by kicking a neary trash can. A huge dent melted right into the old cylindrical container as Zaifer lightly hopped in restraint pain.

"DANG IT ALL!" he muttered under his breath. He finally stopped his hop and stared up ahead. His eyes widen with both angry and a slight sense of relief.

"NALZIEL!"

A girl with long silver-hair, and wearing a uniquely colored dress, leapt on the spot she stood at. She turned to stare at Zaifer with a pair of worried yellow eyes.

"Nalziel…" groaned Zaifer. He stormed right up to the girl and grabbed her by the wrist. She painfully held back a yelp as she stood before him.

"Where in the world did you go?!"

Nalziel slowly lifted up her other hand and pointed to the left of Zaifer's direction. He turned to the given gesture. His throat automatically choked.

Next to him was a shop that displayed large aquariums of fishes. They gracefully fluttered around within the tank.

Zaifer turned back to Nalziel, who slightly shivered nervously. It looked like he was about to explode, until he let loose a long sigh. The man released the girl's arm.

"Adoring fishes once again I see…" muttered Zaifer, "can you at least tell me where you are going before you disappear?"

Nalziel returned a pause as she stared at Zaifer. He glimpsed at her and quickly turned away.

"Come on! Don't give me that 'forgive me' stare…it gives me the creeps!"

The girl had a crestfallen look and lowered her head. Zaifer glimpsed at her again and groaned.

"Oh please…not that too…" he breathed. He whirled away with an irritated look, "Whatever…let's get this over and done with!"

Zaifer then strode forward and Nalziel quietly followed. She paused for a moment to look over her shoulder. She stared down a long winding path and spotted a familiar boy in the distance. A smile of relief appeared on her face as she saw a young girl, with blue hair and joyful orange eyes, follow the boy closely. They both merrily walked away. Soon Nalziel turned back to wipe away her tears and walked forward.

Zaifer huffed out his irritation as he waited for Nalziel to catch up with his pace.

"Time to start Operation: Black Descent," he whispered with a 'hmph'.

*****

Longinus and Miu walked down the path together as pedestrians strolled by them. Miu was smiling brightly as she fiddled with the rouge heart crystal that hung around her neck.

"I hope you like it," smiled Longinus. Miu gazed up at him and nodded with a big smile.

"Miu!"

Longinus smiled too as he turned his head forward. For a transient moment, the sun's ray struck his eyes and he blinked.

His attention was then raised up into the sky. It was a beautiful and healthy blue hue, with the golden sun shining brightly over the park's ecstatic atmosphere. It felt like everything was at peace.

Slowly, the light brightened before Longinus' eyes.

*****

_He felt lost and distraught. The world around him was dark, clammy, and was poured heavily with thick rain. Thunder roared over his head as he felt a deep sense of grief ripped at his very soul apart._

_He stared up into the dark sky. Large heavenly tears dropped over his face, drowning out his own tearful sorrow._

"_Was I really made to live in the dark? Did I really make a big mistake?"_

_The rain kept pouring down, beating against his face as he bowed his head._

"_WHY?! WHY AM I EVIL?! WASN'T I SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD!"_

_He levelled his eyes to a person before him. His overall identity could not be seen, deeply blurred out from the rain._

_He stared up again with a hopeless feeling._

"_Everything I've done…were all the opposite of what I wanted it to be…I'm no better than darkness itself!"_

"_It's not too late! If you never knew that your actions were of the wrong reasons, then you still have a chance to repent and undone what you have done!" called the stranger._

_He lowered his head from the sky and gently stretched a sorrowful smile._

"_Thank you…and sorry for causing you so much trouble," he called over the rain, "my very existence…will jeopardize the entire universe…a universe full of hope, love, and light…"_

_He turned his back on the stranger and stared over a dark abyss. Everything was still blurry, even without the fog of the rain. _

_The stranger suddenly bolted forward._

"_NO!"_

_His eyes stared deeper into the bottomless abyss and he smiled with hope._

"_I can't risk what I have been trying to search for, be tainted by my darkness…Farewell my light…"_

_With that, he plummeted into everlasting darkness._

*****

Longinus collapses to his knees and doubled over. He planted his two hands against the ground to steady himself. His dull emerald eyes slowly returned to normal again.

"MIU!" His mind snapped back to reality and the boy turned to his left.

Miu knelt by Longinus' side with wide and worried eyes. She tugged at his arm to bring him back from whatever he had visioned. Her whimpers made Longinus' emotions turn with guilt.

"I'm sorry, I…must have dazed out from too much sun." Miu slowly cracked a smile, knowing Longinus was alright.

"Miu…" He returned a comforting grin, but his mind still rack with chaos from what he suddenly dreamt in his head.

Miu gently stood up and help lifted Longinus to his feet. Suddenly a meaty hand grappled onto her shoulder and yanked her back.

"MIU!"

"What? Miu!" He whirled around on the spot and suddenly his eyes widen.

He instinctively dodged a deadly jab and then evaded a heavy muscular fist. Longinus leapt back to gain distance and charged forward to break through to Miu.

"Let' her go!"

"Move and she'll get hurt!"

Longinus gasped skidded to a halt. Without warning, two people flanked him from both sides and held his arms in a lock. He struggled to free himself, until he heard a heavy footstep crush over a soda can. Longinus looked up and widened his eyes.

"Baxter!"

The rotund ruffian, Baxter, stood before a captured Longinus. Within the ruffian's arm was Miu, tightly held by her large captor.

In seconds, Longinus and Miu were brought into a wide and empty alleyway. Not a single soul could be seen or can see what was in store for the two prisoners.

Baxter held his head to one side with a spiteful look.

"Not so tough now – huh – outsider?"

"Let her go!" growled Longinus. He tried to leap forward, but the two who held his arms kept him from moving.

"Fat chance," muttered Tully.

"He-heh, likewise," smirked Walter.

"Looks like we also have here another outsider...a girl even," said Baxter. He eyed Miu with his beady eyes as she shivered with fear, "Outsiders are not welcome here. Either amscray or I'll beat the daylights out of you all!"

"Why?! Why do you hate outsiders that much?! Just let the girl go, she has nothing to do with this!" called Longinus.

"Miu!"

"You outsiders are all alike. Dirty aliens who have no right to be here in this proud city. This town don't need garbage like those who are born outside of this place!"

"Leave her alone!" screamed Longinus.

Baxter merely scoffed, "Give him the special treatment…"

Before an explanation was given, Walter smashed his heaviest blow into Longinus' stomach. The boy deeply gasped and lurched forward in agony.

"MIU!" The girl tried to pry herself off from Baxter's grip. It proved to be no use.

Tully and Walter grinned as they loosened their grip. They allowed Longinus to weakly kneel down as his head hung limply forward.

"Miu! Miu, Miu!"

"Please…"

Miu gasped as she watched Longinus raise his head weakly.

"Let her go…" he breathed.

"Longinus!"

A sudden surge of energy filled Longinus' neck. He slowly lifted his gaze and stared Miu right in the eyes.

"Longinus!" she called again. Longinus felt speechless.

"You…called my name?"

Miu nodded tearfully, "Longinus!"

The boy had no idea what to say. Baxter, on the other hand, did.

"Outsiders are garbage…and do you know what I do with garbage?" wondered Baxter in a dark tone.

Longinus gasped with horror. Baxter yanked Miu closer to whisper into her ear.

"Even if you're a girl, outsider…I always take out the garbage…"

Miu shook her head in denial and kicked at Baxter with the back of her heels. He grunted with angry and suddenly held Miu tighter. She struggled and choked as Baxter's hold tightened around her neck.

Suddenly, a stomp was heard. Baxter stopped his torturing and levelled his eyes. Tully and Walter both had stares of surprise. Miu felt the air returned to her, but she stopped when she watched Longinus. The boy slowly stood back up to his feet.

"Wh-what's this?" blinked Tully.

"Let her go…" whispered Longinus. Miu shivered, for his tone was much darker than before.

"Make me!" cried Baxter.

Suddenly, an abrupt change occurred. Longinus dawn-golden hair went stark white. A pair of ruby red glints shifted over the emerald eyed gaze. Then with inhuman strength, Longinus swung both of his arms forward with a monstrous roar. Tully and Walter were lifted off their feet and they were slammed into each other.

Baxter could not help a yelp of fear as he dropped Miu. She fell to one side, but quickly sat up. Her face went pale as she watched a dark fuming aura surround Longinus.

A smirk appeared on his lips. Then a cold and deep echoing tone breathed out.

'_I had enough of your troublesome existence…'_

Baxter faltered back as Longinus slowly strode forward. The black clouds around Longinus grew bigger and bigger by the minute. Then the white-haired boy shook his head.

'_I am not the trash you think I am…No…That trash is you…' _

Miu quivered as she watched Longinus passed by her. She helplessly watched him approached Baxter with a malicious grin.

Baxter shook like a scared rabbit. His feet were frozen solid as he felt his very skin grew cold and lifeless.

"STAY BACK! STAY BACK! OR – OR ELSE!"

With a cold and menacing gaze, Longinus stared at his fear-stricken prey.

'_It's time I wipe you out from the face of the earth!'_

Suddenly, Longinus gave out a blood-curdling cry as dark energy radiated around him. He kept charging up a massive amount of dark aura around him as he began to focus it all into a burning black sphere. A smirk etched on his face.

'_Good bye…' _

Baxter screamed at the top of his lungs "WAIT! DON'T KILL ME!"

"NO!"

Suddenly, a pair of arms flung around Longinus from behind and he deeply gasped. The black ball instantly burst into a cloud of harmless smoke.

Longinus stood still as Miu had tightly wrapped her arms around him. Tears trickled down her eyes as she held onto him for dear life.

"NO!" she cried again. Longinus breathed haggardly, as if he just escaped from being sucked into an unknown void. His hair returned to normal and his red eyes clouded away to become emerald green again.

"What…what's happening to me…" breathed Longinus. He turned to Miu as she stared at him, her eyes full of tears, "What did I do wrong?"

"No…" whispered Miu. Unable to control his fear, Longinus tightly held onto Miu as he too had tears welled up in his eyes.

Baxter regained his senses and quickly ran away with a wild scream. Tully and Walter too regained their consciousness and they fled away from the boy and girl. Soon, they disappeared and never planned to come back.

Longinus held tightly onto Miu, like a terrified child. Miu held onto him as well, hoping to pass some comfort through her embrace. Tears of confusion and fear rolled down Longinus' cheeks to mix with Miu's worried tears.

"Why is this happening…"

*****

"Alright, let's get this show on the road!" called Zaifer. He stood close to the ledge of a rooftop and surveyed the park below his feet. People below were going about with their lives as Zaifer merely stared at them.

"Go for it, Nalziel…"

Nalziel appeared behind him. She did not answer, nor reacted to what he had just said. This caused Zaifer to turn with a slight air of irritation.

"Well? Call for them?"

Nalziel turned away, as if unable to bear to face a fact. Zaifer rolled his eyes with a groan and threw his arms up wildly.

"Oh, come on! I came all the way here for nothing!" Zaifer then stormed up to Nalziel and gripped her by the shoulders. She stared at him with nervous eyes as he leered right back at her.

"What's the matter, Requiem? Too shy to sing? Let's get this over with so we can go on to the next objective! This place's overall glee is making me utterly depressed!"

Nalziel did not speak, but turned her gaze away. Zaifer sighed as he loosened his grip and released Nalziel.

"Hey, it's not my choice to have you be my Requiem, okay?! It's my Commander's orders and you have to listen to what he says, or he'll have both yours and my head!"

Nalziel's eyes softened with a sense of worry and she turned her back on Zaifer. He sighed as he rummaged through his black and white hair.

"Look! All I can say is that if you don't cooperate…" Zaifer hesitated for a moment as he thought it through. He then forced the words out through a loose breath, "…your eldest sister will take the brunt, you know what I'm saying?!"

Nalziel's eyes widen as she gasped. She quietly turned to Zaifer with concerned eyes. He turned away, as if staring straight into the sun.

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT, DARN IT!" grumbled Zaifer, "Just hurry it up and sing for them alright! I…" His voice trailed off as he glimpsed at Nalziel's fearful expression, "really don't want to know anymore bad things happening to your sister ,okay! Just…do it for her sake or something…ANYTHING!"

Silence hung between the two for a long moment. Finally, Nalziel fully turned and approached Zaifer. He eyed her from the corner of his eye as she went up to him. When she was a step away, she stopped and did a light bow. Zaifer felt like he got singed by a red hot poker.

"Skip the 'thanks'…Just – sing…" he mumbled. Nalziel straightened and quietly nodded. She took a step forward until she stood onto the ledge of the rooftop. The girl raised her eyes to the bright sky. She slowly began to sing.

At her voice, the clouds stood still and the sun dimmed. Black clouds were spawned out of the air and instantly gathered themselves. In short seconds, the black clouds sealed the sky shut. In one particular spot, the clouds parted in a spiral as a black and purple portal resonated from its core and thick black soot rained from it.

Nalziel continued to sing as a single bead of tears rolled down her cheek. Zaifer merely stared at the black sky and silently gaze at the black vortex.

"No matter how dark I like things to be…that blasted gate always gives me the creeps…"

*****

Aegis came to a stop in his steady tracks. He raised his gaze and stared deeply upward. The sky was blacken with dark clouds, sparks of thunder flaring, as a black and purple vortex lingered high above the ground.

He lowered his gaze to examine the cold and quiet candy-cane gates of the amusement park, Wacky World.

"Looks like it has begun…"

He then glimpsed off at the corner of his eye. Around him black soot crawled towards him and slowly grouped together to form multiple black pools. One by one, each pool formed a pair of beady yellow eyes and began to manifest into a strange creature.

Aegis merely narrowed his eyes and outstretched his right hand.

"It's time to fight the darkness again, old friend."

A flash of light erupted within his hand and he charged forward at the growing dark creatures.

*****

"What is that?!" breathed Longinus with bewilderment.

Both the boy and Miu stared at the blackened sky as a single cloud formation swirled around, projecting a dark violet aura.

Miu's body quivered as she watched in horrified silence. Longinus too froze with fear as the spiralling clouds grew larger. Suddenly, a terrified thought gripped at his nerves.

"Maddy…Zeke…Hannah!"

**__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Author's Notes**

"Kingdom Hearts" game series proudly owned and produced by Square-Enix.

**Rotund:** Round in shape, plum and fat.

**Pandemonium:** An sense or act of turmoil, disorganization, and utter chaos.

**Flank:** An overal discription of an object's left and right side or area. [General Military Term]


	6. KH4 Maelstrom

****

**Any non-original Characters/Powers/Settings/Weapons will be tagged with '*' and will recieve proper detail and sourcing.**

**This is based after the timeline of "Kingdom Hearts II", made by Square-Enix and Disney.**

**__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Kingdom Hearts IV – Dawn of Dusk**

**Chapter 5: Maelstrom**

"What in the world is that…" uttered Maddy.

He blankly stared at the blackened sky as the air left his lungs.

"I don't know…" shook Hannah with bewilderment, "I just don't know…"

"Neither do I…" whispered Zeke. He too stared up at the sky, "Never has Oceana City seen something like that…"

High above the Wacky World amusement park, and all of Oceana City, the sky was covered with unnatural black clouds. Within the center of the amusement park, hung a large formation of clouds that spiralled around a hollowed out space of air. Within that hallow space a dark violet light pulsated inside.

Without warning, a loud scream was heard. It instantly snapped the three out of their stasis of disbelief. Soon, that single scream was followed by an orchestra of horrific cries that even reach out to the dark skies.

"What's going on here?!" demanded Maddy.

He whirled around and his eyes froze on a terrible sight. Several pools of black soot appeared around a family and surrounded them, as if to prevent their escape. Hannah looked the other way and saw something shocking to her as well. In the distance more sooty black pools appeared around a group of friends, people she knew from her school, and the pools suddenly took form. Zeke then witnessed as the pools transformed into short but strange black creatures with large beady yellow eyes and antennas, as they stared blankly at a group of security officers.

Without hesitation, the creatures leapt over the people and they disappeared under large clouds of black fumes.

"NO!" screamed Hannah.

"WAIT!" cried Maddy.

Just as Hannah ran forward to one of the people, Maddy gripped her arms and yanked her backwards. Just in the nick of time, one of the black creatures tried to swipe at Hannah from the side, but missed. Zeke followed by giving the creature a powerful kick that sent it flying back into the air. Stuck tightly between Maddy and Zeke, Hannah shivered uncontrollably as she felt alone and cold.

"Why…do I feel so cold?"

"Don't what you're feeling get to your head!" grumbled Maddy.

"There has to be some logical explanation for all of this!" pointed out Zeke.

"When did black dust transforming into blood-thirsty monsters become explainable?" snapped Maddy.

He whirled around to send a powerful punch into an attacking black creature, sending it flying away.

"Get a grip on yourselves! We still have Long and Miu to worry about!"

Hannah immediately snapped out of her trance and widened her eyes.

"Longinus! Miu!"

Suddenly three of the black creatures leapt forward at Hannah and the two boys attempted to intercept them. In a blur, a figure dashed out between them and landed a pair of fist into two black creature's face. The third creature received a heavy drop kick and all three of them disappeared into the air. Maddy and Zeke blinked as they both stared at the attacker before them.

Hannah let out a frustrated breath and turned to the two boys with determined eyes.

"Come on! We have to find Longinus and Miu and get out of here!"

*****

"Miu!"

"Don't stop! Keep running!" cried Longinus.

Down a road full of panicking people and transforming black soot, Longinus and Miu ran through them all. The boy quickly glimpsed around them as he manoeuvred through the tight turns of crowds and hoped to find his friends quickly.

Miu on the other hand slowly lagged behind, nearly breathless. Unable to keep up, she accidentally tripped and fell onto the ground. Longinus heard her fall and skidded to a halt.

"Miu!" he cried. Longinus quickly leapt back to the fallen girl's side and went down on one knee to her, "Are you okay?"

Miu could not answer as she bit her lower lip in pain. Longinus peered at her hands, which tightly gripped around her bruised ankle.

"Miu…" she whimpered.

Instantly, Longinus turned his back to her and lightly pulled her hands over his shoulder.

"Here climb on!"

"Miu?"

With a gentle heave, Longinus carried Miu across his back and broke into a careful run.

Miu could only stare at the back of Longinus as he kept running to find the others. She looked worried and she pressed her cheek against his back and tightened her arms around his neck.

"Don't worry, I'll…"

The air leapt out of Longinus. He slid to a halt as his eyes widen.

Slowly marching towards him was a small brigade of black creatures with gnarled antennas and beady yellow eyes. Their heads were black and faceless as they slowly bobbed closer towards Longinus and Miu.

The boy whirled around to escape, but it proved be no use. Across the path behind him, it began to fill up with growing black soot.

"We're trapped…"

Longinus looked back and forth in hopes to find a way out. None could be seen. Miu stared at Longinus with concerned eyes and glimpsed at the army of black creatures. They inched closer and closer as their antennas twitched, almost ecstatic to see their preys.

Finally, the creatures all leapt overhead and dove down to sink their claws against Longinus and Miu. Suddenly, Miu tightly sealed her eyes shut and sang out a single note.

Right under Longinus' feet, a magical circle with ancient runes and arrays appeared. It flashed with brilliant sky-blue light and formed a diamond dome within its formation. The black creatures crashed against the dome's field and received a powerful shock of electricity against them. In seconds the first wave of creatures burst into black clouds.

Longinus could not believe what he saw as he tried to look at Miu. Before he had a chance to speak, Miu sang another note.

Lances of lightning dove from the heavens and danced vibrantly across the ground. The creatures were singed and torn apart as the rest faltered back. When the lightning stopped, the black creatures hesitated to approach Longinus and Miu.

"There's no way out…" breathed Longinus.

A flash of light answered his thoughts. He turned in time to see Miu's crystal heart give off a strong glow of bright light. Its very radiance blinded the dark creatures and slowly engulfed Longinus and Miu into a void of light.

*****

Maddy came to a stop within a narrow path between two buildings and he doubled over to catch his breath. Zeke and Hannah followed as they safely hid themselves in the narrow way.

"They…just keep coming," wheezed Maddy.

"Worst of all, they're kidnapping people into strange black holes for some reason," added Zeke.

"Despite everything we throw at them, they just don't seem to quit…" huffed Hannah.

Maddy straightened himself and leaned against a wall.

"There has to be something that can get rid of them…"

"Hey look!" At Zeke's words, Maddy and Hannah turned to where Zeke was gesturing at.

A couple of meters away, the black creatures had just pounced over a security officer and dragged his unconscious body into a black portal. They continued to sniff the earth with their gnarled antennas until one of them nudged into a flash-torch. It belonged to the officer, as remembered by Zeke, Maddy, and Hannah, as the creature curiously gawked at it with a blank gaze.

The creature scratched at the torch with utmost curiosity, until it happened. It suddenly switched on the device and the creature received a stream of light into its face. It reared back in pain and instantly melted away from under the flash-torch's stare. Immediately, the rest of the creatures cowered from the flash-torch and quickly ran away from its bright glare.

Zeke, Maddy, and Hannah stared back at one another and a mischievous grin etched across their faces.

*****

Longinus stirred awake and felt that he had lied across a hard surface. He slowly opened his eyes and tried to stand. Once he was on his feet, he looked around.

Everything was strangely pitched black. Despite the absence of light, he could still his hands and body.

"Where am I…"

That was when an unknown voice broke into his mind and whispered relentlessly. Longinus felt his head ache as he collapsed on his knees. Pieces of the whisper related out of Longinus' mouth.

"AH! What…Keyblade*…Realm of Darkness*…Agh!"

The pain continued to sear through his mind, as if every word was fused into his memory.

"Stop! Ah! Scattered Worlds*?!"

The boy then lurched forward in utter agony as he bowed his head over his knees.

"Return the light…"

Slowly, Longinus breathed in a normal pace. It was as if the pain had left him. The boy then lifted up his head and lowered his hands. He blankly stared off into the distance as one word echoed in his head.

"Kingdom…Hearts?"

Suddenly the ground below him erupted into fragments of black glass. The glass immediately swept itself away in an ascending spiral and disappeared into the dark beyond. Longinus stared down and confusion glimmered in his eyes.

Below him, he stood on top of a large stained-glass floor. Each colourful fragment was magnificently crafted and pieced together, forming a large circular platform that existed in the dark room. From where he stood he could not see the fragment's overall image. If he had, he would be standing over a stain-glass portrait of a large blue framed heart, with a mighty golden crown within its center, with a large gold and silver key in the center between the two images.

As the sight slowly sunk into Longinus' mind, a voice echoed an important message from the back of his thoughts. As it whispered, his eyes widen.

"Miu!"

He turned on the spot to find the girl, but there was no other that stood on the stain-glass platform. He then heard a twinkling sound and turned to that direction.

Off one edge of the platform, floating rainbow steps materialized out of a chain of light. They each closely form together to create an ascending staircase that wind up towards another platform.

Longinus stared at the growing stairs, until they reached the other edge of the large silver pedestal. A soft whisper echoed into his ears.

'_Without fearing the unknown beyond, called death…are you willing to give a sacrifice.'_

Without any sense of fear or hesitation, he traveled across the magical staircase to find Miu. He slowly ventured over the endless black void below his very existence.

*****

"Die! Die! Die!" cried Maddy.

The boy madly whipped out a flash-torch from his side and switched it on to ignite its bright light. He aimed it at a pair of black creatures, that stood before him, and they instantly melted away from the flash.

A winning smirk crossed Maddy's lips just as Zeke casually stepped up to his friend's side.

"Don't you think you're over exaggerating?" Zeke calmly shone his active flash-torch at a nearby creature and it melted away into soot.

"Never…Die! Die!" flashed Maddy.

The path they stood in was void of a large majority of human life. Many people were taken into the darkness, while some managed to escape to safety from the mysterious creatures. Other survivors, teenagers and adults, followed Maddy and Zeke's example by flashing light over the attacking creatures. So far, the retaliation method proved to be highly effective.

"This ought to slow them down…but we'll be in trouble if more shows up or if the batteries die out…" said Zeke.

"Not to worry my pessimistic pal," grinned Maddy.

His torch had just ran out of power and the creatures took their chance to strike. Right before they could react, Maddy had already whipped out a pair of new flash-torches at them. In moments, the light tore the creatures into black smoke.

He smiled victoriously as he posed like a deadly gunslinger, "I got plenty more where that came from."

"Hey, where did Hannah go?" wondered Zeke.

"Here!"

Zeke and Maddy stopped shooting their flash-torches and spared a moment to turn behind them. Their eyes widen as they saw Hannah, who stood firm against the ground, wielding a large drum-shaped spotlight of some sort. She then rested the spotlight across her right shoulder and aimed it like a bazooka.

"Move!" she gestured.

"GAH!" yelped the two boys.

They leapt away just in time. Hannah flipped the thick switch on and a massive beam of light erupted off the spotlight's bulbous face. A white battering ram of brilliant light scorched a large group of creatures within its massive line of fire. In seconds, the entire path was cleared of the strange creatures and more survivors began to advance through it.

Maddy and Zeke stared at Hannah in stun shock, while she grinned and lowered the aim of her 'cannon'.

"Where did you get that?" breathed Maddy.

"It's easy to get what you need from a nearby RadarShack…" she smiled.

"No wonder the Heartless* numbers were getting smaller by the minute…it was you three!"

At that voice, Maddy, Zeke, and Hannah all turned ahead and spotted a stranger in a long dark green coat. He had stark white and pitch black hair. His red eyes glimmered with a sense of irritation. A snarl could be seen across his lips as he approached the three with slow and angry steps.

"You've got a lot of guts to pull a stunt like that against those Heartless…"

"Heartless?" wondered Maddy.

"I think he meant the black creatures…" whispered Zeke.

A vein creased against Maddy's forehead, "I knew that…"

"Who are you?" demanded Hannah, "And if you're responsible for this mess, why are you attacking innocent people?"

The stranger rolled his eyes and slapped a tired hand on his face.

"You really have no clue do you?" Suddenly, a deadly grin appeared behind the cover of his hand, "We're here to steal your hearts."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed the three.

"Hearts?!" cried Maddy.

"You can't do that!" shouted Hannah in disbelief.

"Even if you did, what are you going to do with them?" wondered Zeke, "Surely you don't plan of presenting a world-wide heart donation…"

The stranger's face cringed with irritation.

"Don't be naïve you little brat…Do you think your hearts are really organs, as explained through your science and knowledgeable explanations?"

He chuckled and straightened himself. Maddy, Zeke, and Hannah all stared at the stranger with both cautious and confused eyes. The stranger merely grinned with a sense of madness to it.

"It is the key to opening a new dawn for all those born under darkness…"

*****

Five Heartless creatures rounded about their target and leapt at him from behind. Before they could evade, a slash of light cut right through them and they broke into clouds of smoke. As the clouds fell across the ground, Aegis stood up to his full height. The weapon he held in his right hand instantly disappeared into a flash of light.

He raised his head to level his dull-blue gaze across the path of the amusement park. Everything was in chaos as windows of buildings were shattered, park benches and other objects laid broken, and several bodies were strewn across the floor.

Aegis turned away from the sight and continued to walk down the empty road. He headed towards the dark cloud spiral that hung close by in the sky. He came to a stop and stared up at the sky.

"Almost there…"

Instantly he broke into a speedy run and leapt up high into the air. He soared over a nearby building and balanced himself on top of its roof by running across it. Quickly, he leapt from building to building as he made his way closer to the cloud spiral.

"It's time to send these jokers back to where they came from."

**__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Author's Notes**

"Kingdom Hearts" game series proudly owned and produced by Square-Enix.

**Heartless** - Main enemy creatures from the 'Kingdom Hearts'. In this Chapter, the Shadow type Heartless are present.

**Platforms -** Based off of the platforms where, in "Kingdom Hearts II", Roxas fights the Twilight Thorn and where Sora fights a cloaked Roxas.


	7. KH4 Sacrifice

****

**Any non-original Characters/Powers/Settings/Weapons will be tagged with '*' and will recieve proper detail and sourcing.**

**This is based after the timeline of "Kingdom Hearts II", made by Square-Enix and Disney.**

**__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Kingdom Hearts IV – Dawn of Dusk**

**Chapter 6: Sacrifice**

In a dark and mysterious void, Longinus reached the platform on the other side and he turned to look back. One by one, the magical steps behind him vanished into a cloud of rainbow light and faded away into the empty air.

The boy turned back and started to stride across the place he now stood at. To his surprise, the platform's surface was blank white. He slowly turned around to examine for any signs of life.

"Miu…"

Longinus' eyes widened and he whirled around. To his shock, Miu laid asleep at the center of the platform. The boy broke into a run towards her.

"Miu!" he cried.

The girl's eyes fluttered open and she instantly sat up right. With a curious look, she turned her head into different directions. Her eyes then fell on Longinus, who quickly approached her from one side.

"Miu!" she cried.

She stood up to her feet and ran towards him. Suddenly, she crashed into a flashing barrier and her body was repelled back to the floor.

"Miu!" called Longinus, "Are you…"

Before he finished, he too smashed into an invisible wall. The sudden force pushed him to the ground and he quickly rolled back to his feet.

"A barrier?"

The ground below them shook wildly and a large object appear from below the platform. Longinus steadied himself as the earthquake subsided and a large shadow loomed over him and Miu. They turned to look up into the air. Longinus barely breathed at the sight.

He leapt away just as a massive hand slapped down on him. Miu gave out a cry of fear as the boy bolted back to his feet and glare at his attacker. A strange giant towered over the white platform as it rose itself from the deep depths of darkness. It had black and silver hide, a pair of torn bat-like wings, and a large head with streams of black smoke for hair. It hung its head forward and hunched over the entire platform.

It swung another enormous hand down onto the platform and attempted to smash Longinus again. The boy ran forward in time to dodge it, but the impact of the hand developed a mighty shockwave that threw Longinus off his feet. He flew across the air and accidentally smashed off of the barrier that held Miu.

"Miu!" she cried.

Longinus skidded across the ground and the giant lowered its head near his fallen body. It croaked with a deep-throated laughter and grinned mockingly at Longinus.

Suddenly, his body sprung up to his full height and he leapt forward at the giant to present a heavy blow. Longinus' fist landed square right into the giant's nose-less face and it reared back painfully.

The boy quickly took the chance and dealt a powerful kick against one of the giant's arms that rested across the platform. The kicked arm heavily swung off the platform surface and smashed into the giant's head, as if the arm was a lifeless piece of heavy rubber. After the giant was hit in the face, it instantly straightened and glared down on Longinus.

"Miu…" he whispered.

The girl perked her head up at the call of her name and she stared at the back of Longinus' head. He slightly turned to speak over his shoulder.

"Do you trust me?" Miu did not answer as she watched Longinus in deep thought. Then, she smiled and returned a firm nod. Without another word, Longinus launched himself into a dash at the giant.

The giant attacked again and Longinus dove head on. He pushed aside the edge of the giant's fist, which flew towards Miu. She gave out a cry just as the barrier flashed violently on contact from the giant's blow. She then heard a faint crack. To her surprise, the barrier began to have small fissures across its dulling surface.

Another blow dove at Longinus like a swooping eagle. He easily vaulted over the attack and it too smashed against the barrier that held Miu. More cracks appeared against the surface as Miu was unable to help a fearful shriek.

Finally, Longinus landed onto the extended left arm of the giant and he ran right up towards its head. He swiftly leapt off of the giant's shoulders and spun around in the air. With a devastating kick from Longinus, the giant's head deeply lurched backwards from the abrupt force.

The boy landed right in front of Miu's barrier and he glared up at the giant. The massive creature threw its head forward and gave out a vicious cry that shook the ground. Longinus did not falter.

"Miu," whispered Longinus. The girl turned to the boy as the barrier cracks grew longer and deeper, "No matter what…I'll always protect you…"

With a deep roar, the giant threw both hands together down on Longinus. The hands slammed dead on to a hard surface, five inches above Longinus' head. In reality, the hands smashed right on top of Miu's barrier with a deadly force. From the blow, the dome burst into harmless glass fragments and freed Miu from its lock.

But it did not stop attack, only slowed it down.

Right at the moment the dome burst, Longinus leapt towards Miu and pushed her out of the way.

Time slowed around Miu as she blankly stared at the giant's hands, slowly descending over Longinus. At the last moment, she saw his relieved expression as he smiled.

'Good bye…' he mouthed.

"LONGINUS!"

The giant's attack crashed right down over Longinus with a mighty thunderclap.

Miu fell across the white platform and she sat up within the shockwave of a whirlwind. The world went silent around her.

She stared at the spot under the giant's hands, where Longinus once was, and tears welled against her eyes.

"Miu…" Slowly, she crawled over to the giant's hands and stared at them with blank horror.

The giant merely croaked with laughter and it gave out a victorious screech. Suddenly, it felt something hit its hand.

The giant peered down to see Miu madly hitting its fingers with her tiny fists, tears flooding down her cheeks. She cried as she pounded against the dark hands before her, hoping to get rid of them to save Longinus.

The giant croaked again and raised its right hand up into the air. With a cold-heart grin, it lashed its hand down on the girl.

Miu merely sat still where she was and bravely glared at the hand coming down on her. As the shadow of the falling hand loomed over her, she closed her eyes to face her fate.

The white floor of the platform instantly shattered into a cloud of white glassy mist. The fragments safely flew around Miu, but ripped apart the dark flesh off of the giant's hands.

A burst of light erupted from under the giant's left hand. At the same time, a pillar of light shot out into the air and tore through the second hand, before it touched Miu's hair. The giant reared back in pain as he withdrew its handless arms. It stared at them in utter disbelief.

The entire platform surface then revealed itself as another stain-glass portrait. It was an image of a large key-shaped sword, with a blue and silver blade and dark blue hilt. Silver chains were entwined around the image of the sword, as if kept in tight restraints.

In front of Miu, a glow of light hummed gently before her. She felt a warm radiance coming from the heart of it. She reached out a hand into the light and tenderly pulled it back to hold a familiar hand.

Slowly, a calm body began to pull itself out of the light. As the body came forth, a wide smile grew on Miu's face.

"I'm sorry if I scared you," grinned Longinus, "I gave myself quite a fright as well."

Another smaller body flung its arms around him without words and rested a tearful head against his chest. Longinus felt at ease as he lightly embraced Miu and caressed her head. With relief, she snuggled her head against Longinus as she giggled away her tears.

The giant madly roared and flung its arms in confusion. It danced with pain and retreated within the empty shadows in fear. Longinus and Miu both turned to watch the giant slowly withdraw back into the empty darkness. He then turned to her with a comforting smile.

"Let's go back, to the others."

"Miu!" nodded Miu.

Longinus turned to look off at the distance and held out his right hand. A flash of light appeared at his open palm and instantly manifested into a key-shaped blue and silver sword.

"Light."

Longinus pointed the sword at the dark giant. The sword fired a strong thread of light into the air and it pierced right through the giant's heart. The creature roared as the light burn right through it and landed against an invisible wall in the air. Behind the melting giant, a bright white door appeared. Once the giant disappeared, the door opened to flood Longinus, Miu, and the empty void with bright luminescent light.

The chains from the stain-glass portrait freed the image of the key-sword with a bright shatter.

*****

"What's the matter, kids?" laughed Zaifer, "Afraid of the dark?"

"Get out of here if you know what's good for you!" shouted Maddy.

"Ooh," chuckled Zaifer. He gave a fake chill, "I'm so scared…"

Maddy and Zeke readied their flash-torches and Zaifer eyed them with amusement. He then went into a bawling fit.

"It's useless to use those little toys of yours on me! I'm not afraid of a little sunshine! Why don't you go and − GAAAAH!"

A blast of light suddenly streaked right between Maddy and Zeke, which slammed right into Zaifer. The surge of light glared deeply into his eyes and stung madly with pain.

"AAAAAHHH! MY EYES!"

Maddy and Zeke turned around to see Hannah. She had shouldered her spot-light 'cannon', with one eye closed in aim, and a grin stretched on her face.

Zaifer furiously thrashed around as his blurry eyes can hardly tell the ground to the sky.

He spun at the trio with a snarl, "How dare you! You…"

"Wrong way…" smirked Maddy.

Zaifer blinked for a moment and was able to notice he stared in the wrong direction of the three friends. A vein popped against his forehead.

"HEARTLESS! FINISH THEM OFF!"

At his command, the black creatures appeared and surrounded the three teenagers in an instant. As they flooded the entire path, Zaifer took a transient moment to find a place for cover, staggering around half-blinded. The Heartless bobbed around and etched closer to the three's feet, their beady eyes hungry for hearts.

Maddy and Zeke immediately fend them off with their flash torches, while Hannah obliterated more Heartless with her 'cannon'. Though a large groups of Heartless were quickly wiped out, more appeared to fill in the gaps.

"We can't hold them off like this! Where's Longinus when you need him!" growled Maddy.

"Hi."

The three teenagers stopped and their eyes widen. They all turned behind them and came face to face with a pair of familiar friends. It was a boy, with dawn-golden hair and emerald eyes, and a girl, with sapphire hair and a cheery smile on her face.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," smiled Longinus sheepishly.

"Longinus!" called out Maddy and Zeke.

"Miu! You're both alright!" shouted Hannah. A tear of relief hung at the corner of her of her eye as she blinked it off with relief.

Miu gave a small giggle and thrust her hand into the air in a wave, "Miu!"

Without warning a fan of Heartless leapt into the air behind Longinus and Miu.

"WATCH OUT!" cried the three.

A line of light slashed right through the Heartless and they broke into black clouds. One by one, eyes widened as they saw an extraordinary sight.

Outstretched and held in Longinus' right hand was a large key-shaped sword. At the bottom of the sword's hilt, dangled a metal chain with a six-pointed metal star attached to the end. Streaks of blue and silver ran down the blade as it glowed with light. Longinus twirled the sword around and held it by his side.

"Thanks for holding out for me, everyone…" whispered Longinus. He raised his shining emerald gaze to Maddy, Zeke, and Hannah with a smile, "Now, it's my turn."

Heartless charged forward at Longinus and he whirled around to face them.

With inhuman speed and agility, the boy wielded his sword through the sea of darkness. Five by five, Heartless evaporated into the air. After each of the Heartless' destruction, a radiating pink crystal heart flew and disappeared into an orb of light. Longinus swept through them all until he broke a large clearing, in the middle of the sea of living darkness. He stood still as the Heartless held their ground for the moment.

"So…" Longinus turned to look over his shoulder and at the sword in his hand.

"You're a Keyblade aren't you? What's your name?"

Silence answered the boy and he turned to face the enemies before him.

"_Trans-Metal_…" replied the boy's voice.

Longinus stood up straight into a ready pose and held the sword to the right of his face at eye level.

"It's an honor to fight with you…"

Without another word, the boy charged into the fray. The shining Keyblade ripped through waves of Heartless as Longinus dove and skidded around their attacks. He was a deadly whirlwind that tore through the Heartless formations, black clouds swirled around him with every move he made. Despite the progress, many more Heartless remained as they tightly gathered around Longinus.

"Miu!"

Longinus turned to see Miu and she stared right into his eyes. They were quiet, as if unheard thoughts were exchange.

"Help…" uttered Miu. Longinus was taken aback for a moment. She struggled to get her words out, as if a new born-child, "Miu, help!"

Longinus remained silent for a moment. Then he gave a confident nod. She smiled and nodded back.

"Hit it!" called Longinus.

"Miu!"

The girl then closed her eyes and folded her hands. She took a deep breath and sang a echoing note. Longinus widely slashed at a group of Heartless and quickly looked up into the sky. Lance of lightning struck down to earth and the boy danced around them. Each lance pierced through into the Heartless, destroying them.

Suddenly more Heartless appeared to attack Longinus' friend. Miu had already leapt in between them as the creatures charged. She sang another note, this time casting an electrifying barrier against the flood of Heartless. The creatures were shocked and melted into black clouds on contact.

"Miu! Let's give them a final blow!" cried Longinus.

The barrier faded away and Miu turned to his direction. She sang a longer note and the sky began to roar. The Heartless froze and stared upward. Sparks of bright-white fire flashed within the dark clouds.

From the clouds, a massive pillar of thunder tore through and rocketed towards the ground. Longinus leapt toward it and stood directly under the thunder. In a split second, he spotted a strange green triangle form above his head. It came down towards him as he stared at it curiously.

Without another thought he reached out his hand into the center of the triangle. On contact, the triangle spun around his arm and was absorbed into his heart. A surge of energy and focus illuminated his emerald eyes.

"_Trans-Metal_!"

Longinus tossed the Keyblade into the air and straight into the falling thunder's path.

"_Flashing Dispersal_!"

The Keyblade struck the arrowhead of the thunder and held it in the air. The sword spun rapidly against the force of thunder, bright and electric blue sparks flew everywhere.

It then stopped its spinning, pointing up, and it sliced right through the center of the thunder pillar. The thunder broke into several arcing energy beams and rained down all over the Heartless, razing them to the ground in brilliant blue flames.

In sheer seconds, the remaining hordes of Heartless were engulfed by bright light. Longinus released a breath of relief. The Keyblade, _Trans-Metal_, twirled in the air and struck itself into the ground right in front of Longinus. He placed his hand on the hilt and drew it out from the ground.

"Thank you…" he whispered to it. The Keyblade suddenly glinted under a stream of golden light.

A ray of light also glared at Longinus from above and he turned to look. Maddy, Zeke, Hannah, and Miu all turned to the sky and they stared in astonishment.

The black clouds parted and released a flood of sunlight over the park.

"Y-You did it!" stuttered Maddy.

"Great job!" complimented Zeke.

Hannah dropped her spotlight to the ground and flung her arms around a surprised Longinus. She gave him a tight and happy hug as Longinus blushed.

"You did it!"

"Miu!"

Miu also wrapped her arms around Longinus' neck and snuggled her head over a free spot against Longinus' occupied chest. His face burned crimson even faster. He felt the air evacuate his very mind.

"Uh…uh…uh…….uh…."

A foot step cracked over a broken plastic toy and everyone turned to one direction. They saw a tall young boy, with jet-black hair and a long red coat. He had a small grey scarf that covered the lower half of his face and his blue eyes twinkled under his passive gaze.

"Who's that?" wondered Zeke.

Maddy narrowed his eyes, "Who ever it is…he sure doesn't like friendly…"

"Another one responsible for the creatures?" uttered Hannah.

"Heartless," said Longinus, "they're called Heartless. They hunt down people so they can take their hearts, for these beings have known."

The boy eyed the stranger and the very sight triggered his memory.

"I don't think he's responsible…" Longinus took a step forward, which caused Hannah and Miu to free him with concern in their eyes.

The boy strode towards the red-coated stranger, but tried to hide his Keyblade behind his legs. Soon they were only three steps away from one another.

"Nice to see you again, Atticus…" said Longinus pleasantly.

"Aegis…" corrected the monotonous voice. Longinus blushed a little and smiled sheepishly.

"My bad…"

"You know him?" asked Maddy.

Longinus turned around with a smile and waved back. When he turned, an edge of his Keyblade poked out from behind him and the stranger casually glimpsed at it.

"Yeah, he's Aegis, my saviour and−"

"LONGINUS!"

Maddy, Zeke, and Hannah all spun around to Miu. She stood in between them all and she screamed again with fear, "BACK!"

Longinus' eyes widen as he heard both a whisper of danger from his Keyblade, and a whistling edge. He ducked just in time to avoid a dark blade's slash, which nearly took off his head.

Longinus leapt forward to get some attack distance. Once he turned, a dark red blur zipped forward and lashed out its long sword at him. In a split second Longinus blocked the attack and was drove backwards in the air. In the middle of the air, his eyes widened with absolute horror.

"Aegis?" he breathed.

Aegis held a long dark red and blue sword, which hooked out a little at its tip. It too resembled a similar shape of a key. Longinus' mind froze.

Without a moment lost, Aegis forced Longinus to crash into the ground and he gracefully landed a step away. The boy struggled to his feet, balancing his weight across his Keyblade and stared at Aegis with a look of bewilderment.

"Why…" coughed Longinus, "Aren't you my saviour? Why do you have a Keyblade…Why are you attacking me?!"

Aegis thrust his sword to one side as his eyes stared at Longinus coldly.

"You leave me no choice, Longinus," he spoke, "I wanted to let you off since our last encounter…but now that you can wield a Keyblade…I have no choice but to destroy you…"

At those words, Longinus' body went cold and numb.

**__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Author's Notes**

"Kingdom Hearts" game series proudly owned and produced by Square-Enix.

**Shadow Giant:** Based off of the Black Giant from "Kingdom Hearts", where Sora fights it in a destroyed Destiny Island. It is also based off of the Twilight Thorn from "Kingdom Hearts II".

**Green-Triangle:** A physical form of the Reaction Command, created from from "Kingdom Hearts II".

**VVVVVVV *[Keyblade Acquired]* VVVVVVV**

**Keyblade Trans-Metal [**_**Created and Designed by: Emerald Sonata]**_**:**

→_Element:_ N/A

→_Abilities:_

Quicksilver LV1: Increase running speed.

High Jump LV1: Jump higher than normal.

Elite Senses LV1: Battle Awareness heightened.

Acrobatic LV1: Higher chances of dodging attacks in air or on ground.

Shifting Guard: A blocking move activated by Reaction Command.

Magic Fuse: Special Magic skills are automatically integrated into wielder.

→_Special Ability:_ None

→_Special Attack Skill:_

Battle Fuse: Combat skills are automatically integrated into wielder.

Over the Edge: Chained combos become stronger with every successful hit.

Crossblade Shutter: Keyblade can be thrown like a boomerang to plough through enemies.

Scattering Charge: Energy projectiles can be broken through Reaction Commands.


	8. KH4 Trust

****

**Any non-original Characters/Powers/Settings/Weapons will be tagged with '*' and will recieve proper detail and sourcing.**

**This is based after the timeline of "Kingdom Hearts II", made by Square-Enix and Disney.**

**__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Kingdom Hearts IV – Dawn of Dusk**

**Chapter 7: Trust**

Longinus stared at Aegis as he kept himself balanced against his Keyblade.

It was so sudden. A series of unpredictable events came at the distraught boy one after another. First, he was taken into a strange dark realm, where he had risk his life to save Miu from a dark giant. How he survived the giant's final blow, he did not know. Next, he returns to wield the power of the Keyblade, _Trans-Metal_. It was mind-boggling at first, but the Keyblade itself gave its resonating support to Longinus and enabled him to destroy the attacking Heartless. Finally, the person he believed to have saved his life wants to kill him.

"Aegis…" he coughed, "Why are you doing this?!

"I wanted to give you a chance…but I can't let someone like you wield the Keyblade that freely."

"Why is that?! I just figured out today what a Keyblade is!"

Without warning, Aegis launched himself forward. In one swift motion, he pulled forth his long red and blue key-shaped sword at Longinus. Quickly, Longinus back-flipped in time to draw out his Keyblade, _Trans-Metal_, and fended off against Aegis' precise and deadly attacks.

To Longinus' surprise, Aegis seemed to be more experienced in sword fighting. He displayed a natural talent for it. His slashes were sharp and accurate; his guard was stubbornly unbreakable; and his strikes were nearly impossible to reflect.

After much struggling, Aegis gave Longinus a heavy kick into his stomach and sent the boy into a stall full of toys and marionettes.

"MIU!" hollered Miu. She tried to run to Longinus' side. Maddy and Zeke instantly held her back.

"You can't go near them, Miu! It's dangerous!" groaned Maddy, as he tried to stop her.

"Please or you'll get hurt," uttered Zeke, who also struggled to hold her.

"LONGINUS!"

Maddy and Zeke whirled their heads at Hannah. She had a terrified look on her face and began to break into a mad sprint at Longinus.

"GET HER!" screamed Maddy.

The two boys pushed Miu back. They quickly chased after Hannah, leapt through the air, and tackled her to the ground. She wriggled under their weight as she tried to claw her way out.

"LET ME GO! LET ME−" The rest of her words were cut off when Maddy and Zeke pressed their hands against her mouth. She muffled in irritation and defiance. Maddy looked up and stared at the clouds over the broken stall where Longinus had landed.

"Longinus! Get up and fight or that guy will kill you!"

Longinus propped himself up on his left elbow from the wreckage. He coughed away the dust surrounding him and sat up. He shook his head from the fall and struggled to his feet from the pile of toys around him. Suddenly a familiar blade was held at his face.

He raised his eyes to meet Aegis', who still held the blade at his 'opponent'.

"That Keyblade…" whispered Longinus.

"_Guardian's Soul_*…" returned Aegis.

"I thought so…that's one of the Keyblades that were sealed away long ago…"

Aegis stood silent for a moment as he gazed passively at Longinus.

"That I know…"

"But aren't we both wielding a Keyblade?!" Longinus held up _Trans-Metal_ to show to Aegis. In silence, both Aegis' and Longinus' Keyblades resonated with one another, as if linked together, "Why are you fighting me?!"

"Because you were never meant to claim one…"

The words sent a cold chill down Longinus' spine as he stared in bewilderment at Aegis.

"What do you…mean…"

Aegis merely stared down Longinus' question and etched his Keyblade, _Guardian's Soul_, closer to his face.

"It's best not to ask…all I can say is you were not originally meant to wield one…"

Longinus boldly held his Keyblade up into the air with eyes of denial.

"Then why do I have one in my hand right here, right now?!"

"A mystery I plan to solve once I'm done cleaning up the mess from this World…" replied Aegis.

"This World?" asked Longinus.

"I HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!" The sudden voice caught everyone completely off guard and they quickly turned to it.

They saw a stranger with a long dark-green coat, black and white hair, and he held a hand to his eyes. He looked in agony and straightened his shivering back. His shivers did not come from pain.

"You little…" whispered the stranger slowly. He slowly lifted away his hand and his crimson eyes flashed violently with dull anger.

"You again!" cried Maddy.

Longinus was able to stand on his feet, while Aegis sternly stared at the stranger.

Hannah broke away from Maddy and Zeke's hold. Quickly, she swept up her spotlight 'cannon' she had dropped nearby. With a scoop, she instantly shouldered the large drum-shape lighting machine and aimed with a sneer.

"Eat−"

Before she finished, a large dark-green and flashing orange dagger appeared out of nowhere and pierced right through her only weapon. Shocked with disbelief, the spot-light's internal motors crumbled into scrap metal.

The stranger held aloft his arm, after he had thrown that dagger. He straightened as his eyes flashed with red fury.

"I hope you got health insurance missy, because you're gonna need it when I'm through with you…"

Hannah's spine shivered, but she held her legs firm to the ground. She boldly tossed the broken spotlight at the stranger with a cry. It sailed across the air at high speed towards the stranger. Before it could touch him though, the device was severed into two and harmlessly flew right by him. In the stranger's hand he held a single dark-green dagger with a humming electric orange edge. He lowered the dagger below the level of his eye and stared coldly at Hannah.

"You're really asking for it…" he breathed.

"Zaifer."

Zaifer gazed out from the corner of his eye at Aegis. The young red-coated boy slowly strode forward, unafraid, as he held his Keyblade by his side.

"Keyblade Wielder Aegis…how unpleasant for us to see each other again…" muttered Zaifer, "I won't forget what you did back in Radiant Garden*…"

"You were merely asking for it…"

Zaifer scoffed to hold back his burning fury, "Oh yeah…"

"Miu!"

Zaifer's eyes widen at the moment he heard that voice. He spun his eyes to Longinus just as a small girl, with long-sapphire hair and worried orange eyes, hugged him.

"Miu…" she whimpered, pressing her face against Longinus' chest.

"I'm fine…thanks for the warning," he smiled.

"YOU!"

Miu and Longinus leapt on the spot from the loud and abrupt voice. Quickly, Miu held Longinus tighter, like a scared child, when she saw Zaifer's spiteful gaze.

"Y-you're that sixth Requiem that went missing!" gasped Zaifer. Aegis' expression went pale and he gasped as well. He turned to Miu and Longinus with wide eyes.

"She's a Requiem?" he breathed.

Zaifer's bewildered gaze instantly shifted into an angry one.

"You! Where's your Recon? Where is he?" demanded Zaifer.

Miu shivered with fear and she hid behind Longinus, away from Zaifer's glare.

Zaifer instantly blew his top off, "WHY YOU!"

"STOP!"

Everyone turned to the voice that shrieked over them. Zaifer froze and choked on his own breath. Even Longinus stiffened at the familiar voice.

Zaifer spun around in bewilderment and stared at a girl with long silver hair, yellow eyes, and a colourful dress.

"NALZIEL?!"

"Please! Don't hurt my sister!" cried Nalziel.

"SISTER?!" hollered everyone.

"Nalziel!" called Aegis. The girl turned to Aegis as he tried to approach her. Zaifer instantly leapt in between them, but turned his back on Aegis.

"How? How can you talk? You've never spoke a word since…ever!" stuttered Zaifer.

"Because she needs the presence of a Keyblader's powers, in order to regain her sense of speech!"

Zaifer turned on his heels and jeered at Aegis. The young man merely strode forward to reach Nalziel.

"Requiems like Nalziel need a medium of light to regain their voices, or else they cannot communicate at all except to their own sisters."

"Stay out of this, Keyblader! My business with her does not concern you!" growled Zaifer.

"Sister!"

All eyes turned to a frightened Miu. The young girl fully exposed herself from behind Longinus as called out again, "Sister!"

"Miuynziel!" called Nalziel. She attempted to run towards her sister. An arm swung in front of her and batted her back. Miu gasped as she watched Nalziel skidded across the ground from Zaifer's sudden blow.

"Sister!" she cried again.

"Enough! I had enough of this!" yelled Zaifer.

Suddenly, Aegis leapt forward and attacked Zaifer from behind. Zaifer simply tossed three glowing daggers at Aegis to break off his guard. He then whirled on Nalziel and picked her up by her arm. He quickly pulled out a radio communication device and screamed into it.

"Operation failed! Return Nalziel back to headquarters! I'll follow shortly after I clean up this mess!"

He silenced the device and shoved Nalziel to one side. Suddenly, a shining blue beam screamed down from the heavens and struck Nalziel dead on.

Longinus, Miu, and the others were stunned as they watched the blue rays envelope Nalziel within a clear blue crystal. She pounded her fist against the crystal cage as she cried inaudible words. A single tear could be seen as she glimpsed at Miu and Longinus. The crystal then shot up into the sky and disappeared in a teleportation of light.

"SISTER!" screamed Miu. Tears started to well up in her eyes and slowly rolled down her cheeks. She could not help it any longer and threw her head into Longinus' chest. He rested an arm around her and gently embraced her.

"I'm sorry, Miu…"

"Now it's your turn, Requiem Miuynziel…" muttered Zaifer.

Before he took another step, a red and blue blade came down on him from his right. Zaifer calmly back-stepped to avoid the blow and leapt away from a second slash. He landed a few paces away and a smirk stretched across his face.

"What's the matter, Aegis? Did I make you mad?"

Aegis took a step forward and pointed _Guardian's Soul_ at Zaifer.

"Joker…I'll break you in half!"

He leapt forward and slashed down on Zaifer. The stranger smiled wildly and lashed out his two arms to his side. From his outstretched hands, a pair of dark-green daggers appeared from a pair of black smoke. When Zaifer grasped onto their handles, an electric orange edge was ignited. With both daggers, Zaifer countered Aegis' strike and fought against him in a fast and furious pace.

Longinus lightly stroked Miu's back as she continued to cry. His worried emerald eyes glittered in understanding.

"Miu…" he whispered.

Miu paused her tears for a moment and looked up at Longinus.

"Is she very important to you?"

Miu nodded, "Miu…"

Longinus too nodded. He gave her a light hug and slowly released her.

"I promise…both you and Nalziel," said Longinus. Miu stared at him as his emerald eyes glittered, "I will protect you and save your sisters…"

With that, Longinus quickly departed to follow the raging battle of Aegis and Zaifer.

"Hey wait, Longinus!" called back Hannah.

"Oh no, you don't! We're not leaving you to fight on your own!" cried Maddy.

"Wait for us!" exclaimed Zeke.

"Miu!"

The three suddenly stopped as a figure blocked off their path. It was Miu. She held her arms out, as if to keep Hannah and the others from following Longinus.

"M-Miu! What are you doing? Longinus can't handle this on his own!" exclaimed Hannah.

"Trust!"

Hannah, Maddy, and Zeke were taken back by surprise as they stared at a determined Miu. She held her stance as she struggled the words out.

"Trust…Longinus!"

"But…" said Maddy.

Hannah placed a hand on Maddy's shoulder and he turned to her. Hannah had a quiet look on her gaze as she stared at Miu. A soft smile of understanding appeared on her face.

Miu confidently smiled as well.

"I…Trust…Longinus!"

**__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Author's Notes**

"**Kingdom Hearts"** game series proudly owned and produced by Square-Enix.

**Guardian's Soul [Kingdom Hearts II]:** Earned after in Mount Olympus after you fight with Auron in the Underrealm. Special Ability: Reaction Boost (Increases damage done through Reaction Command)

All sources are gathered from KingdomHeartsWiki


	9. KH4 Destiny

******Any non-original Characters/Powers/Settings/Weapons will be tagged with '*' and will recieve proper detail and sourcing.**

**This is based after the timeline of "Kingdom Hearts II", made by Square-Enix and Disney.**

**__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Kingdom Hearts IV – Dawn of Dusk**

**Chapter 8: Destiny**

In the middle of the park, a Ferris-wheel towered over the vast grounds of Wacky World. Around it, stalls and buildings were tattered with black soot and rubble. Debris, food, beverages, and broken toys were strewn all over the park grounds as the wind mourned over them.

A loud explosion groaned nearby and a cloud of smoke rose into the air. From within the heart of the grey clouds, three figures broke out and fiercely clashed in mid-air.

Zaifer flew backwards as both Longinus and Aegis charged at him from both flanks, their Keyblades drawn. In seconds they both came into a lock of steel, with Aegis against Zaifer's right dagger and Longinus against Zaifer's left.

As they descended down from gravity's pull, Zaifer kicked off backwards into the air and landed on top of a vending machine with ease. Aegis landed on both of his feet while Longinus landed down on one knee. Zaifer smiled ecstatically as he playfully twirled his humming daggers.

"My, my. Two Keybladers in a single duel…how exciting…"

"Who are you and why are you hurting people with the Heartless?!" demanded Longinus.

Zaifer grinned and did a deep bow.

"I am Recon5, Zaifer. I am the fifth member of the grand Recon1-XI. My main job is to open the gates to the Realm of Darkness over every World in this universe."

"For what reason?!"

Zaifer smiled, "To create a new home for us darkness, of course."

Longinus' grip tightened over _Trans-Metal_'s hilt as Zaifer laughed.

"What's the matter? Did I make you angry?"

His laughter was instantly cut short as he eyed off in one direction. Zaifer leapt off of the vending machine just as Aegis sliced it clean in two. Zaifer somersaulted backwards into the air and balanced himself across the top of an iron fence.

"You know, I hate people who interrupt me when I'm having fun…"

"Hmph…joker…" scoffed Aegis. He readied his Keyblade again and glared at Zaifer, "Organization XIII and its ambitions are long gone, Zaifer. Why does anyone want to redo them again?!"

Zaifer grinned and shrugged, "Why don't you take it directly to my Commander?!"

The stranger suddenly tossed his two daggers into the air at Aegis. As if the weapons had a mind of their own, they chased after Aegis as he danced back. He was about to cut right through them, but another blue and silver Keyblade had already done so.

The daggers were torn apart from the other Keyblade and they harmlessly cluttered to the ground. Aegis turned to see Longinus as the boy held _Trans-Metal_ firmly with one hand. Without saying anything, the boy glared at Zaifer and pointed his Keyblade at him.

"Who are the Recon1-XI?"

"Heh," scoffed Zaifer, "You make it sound like it was some shabby military code phrase…"

A grin etched across Zaifer's face as he eyed Longinus with intrigued eyes.

"Recon is short for Reckonings, official members whose hearts are full of darkness. The XI (11) stands for five original Recons members and six Requiems…"

"What about the '1', what importance is that?" wondered Longinus.

Zaifer paused for a moment and sighed, "Don't ask, even I don't know…"

"What?!"

A malicious grin appeared on Zaifer.

"Like that really matters now, does it…"

Suddenly, the Recon outstretched his two hands and burning black energy spheres appeared around them. Together, he slammed his palms to the ground and a dark purple shockwave threw Aegis and Longinus off their feet.

The move was so abrupt, the two Keybladers did not even had a chance to avoid it. They were thrown through a large glass window of a nearby shop. The two crashed right into the store as shelves and dolls avalanched over them.

Zaifer smirked as he straightened to his full height. One at a time, he pulled out two new daggers from the air and he slowly approached the broken store.

Aegis struggled to his feet as Longinus did the same. They were still on their backs as Longinus turned to Aegis.

"Are you alright?"

Aegis scoffed, "My health does not concern you…"

"Don't be like this! We can take him out together!"

"When this is all over you'll be next…"

"I don't care if you even destroy me now!"

Aegis paused and turned to Longinus. The boy merely stared down the young man's cold gaze.

"Destroy me all you want…But be advised: I will fight back," muttered Longinus, "I don't have a grudge against you. Neither do I understand why must you kill me so eagerly, but one thing is certain for me to do…"

Aegis sat up as Longinus did the same. His emerald eyes glimmered with fiery determination.

"We have to stop him…as Keybladers, we have to stop Zaifer from harming any more innocent people. I also need to get him to tell me more about this Recon1-XI…And until I fulfill my promise to both Miu and Nalziel, nothing else matters…"

Longinus paused and took a deep and calm breath.

"You can take my life then…when this is all over…"

Aegis sat in silence and passively stared at the boy. Longinus took slow breaths as he returned the hard gaze to the young man.

That was when _Guardian's Soul_ appeared in front of Longinus.

"Grab on…"

A cheerful grin stretched over Longinus' lips. He looked at Aegis' expressionless face and nodded. The boy then gripped the dull edge of Aegis' Keyblade.

Without warning, Aegis bolted to his feet and swung around. His sword spun around as well and pulled Longinus with it. Aegis whirled around and launched Longinus right out the window and at Zaifer.

The Recon was taken aback as a pair of emerald green eyes flashed brilliantly with anger and came towards him. In an instant, he blocked a flurry of heavy slashes as both he and Longinus clashed in mid air.

Zaifer quickly duck under a blow and swiped up. Longinus blocked the counter with _Trans-Metal,_ but the force sent him flying upward in the air. Right before Zaifer followed, Aegis vaulted out of the store window and spun in the air. He then lashed out his Keyblade and aimed it at Zaifer.

"_Blizzard Bite_!"

A stone of ice magically shot out off from the Keyblade's tip. Zaifer sneered and somersaulted in the air to avoid the attack. The ice shot smashed into the ground and immediately it created a tall crystal stalagmite. Its overall height nearly touched Zaifer as he back flipped and rebounded off a nearby wall. He launched himself into the air at Aegis.

Zaifer froze when a smirk appeared across Aegis' face.

Right behind the Recon, a young boy had appeared. Zaifer turned in time to see a glow of burning orange around the boy's weapon hand.

"_Fire Waltz_!" cried Longinus.

Instantly, a magical red ring with a pair of burning spheres circled around Longinus. Zaifer quickly made a purple barrier around him right before the magic attack could harm him. The flames clashed against Zaifer as he grunted from every blow. After three short consecutive hits, he landed back to the ground and was about to retaliate.

"_Redblade Fracture_!"

Zaifer whirled around in time to see Aegis raise his Keyblade over his head. The blade instantly glowed deep red and an energy blade extended over its overall length. Zaifer felt a chill run down his spine as Aegis twirled the blade down to the ground.

With a mighty vertical slash, _Guardian's Soul_ created a red energy wave that sliced apart the ground. Zaifer's shield took the full brunt of the blow and it shattered into thousands of pieces. The force of the attack threw him off his feet.

Suddenly, Longinus swept right under Zaifer's fall and a green triangle appeared. The boy touched it and it instantly went into his heart.

Longinus elbowed Zaifer in the back. The Recon reared back in pain as he was thrown higher in the air. Finally, Longinus swung around and batted Zaifer towards the sky at the Ferris wheel.

As Zaifer flailed through the air, Longinus and Aegis followed by jumping and running up building walls. They reached the top of a pair of rooftops, but did not stop and vaulted over onto higher and higher buildings.

Finally, the two leapt towards one another into the air. Longinus gestured a nod to Aegis and he did the same. The boy hooked his Keyblade around his wrist and cupped his hands together. Aegis dove forward and in mid-air stepped onto Longinus hands. With a mighty heave, Longinus tossed Aegis higher into the air.

The boy descended and held his Keyblade at the ready. He landed onto a flimsy flagpole, which bended way back from the force of his landing. Like a catapult, Longinus was gracefully launched into the air and flew towards the Ferris-wheel.

After short aggravating minutes, Zaifer swung his body around in the air to gain control of his flight. He then smashed onto a metal beam of the Ferris-wheel. With an angry groan, he heaved himself onto a catwalk.

Aegis softly landed right on top of the tallest booth and gazed down. Longinus had just appeared as he landed on a thick metal support. The boy nearly lost his balanced on landing, but eventually adjusted his weight. Aegis returned an impressed scoff and Longinus simply smiled back.

Zaifer stumbled across the catwalk as the Ferris-wheel slowly moved around him. Suddenly, a young man with a dark red coat, jet-black hair, and dim blue eyes landed right in front of him.

Zaifer rolled his eyes, exhausted.

"You guys don't know when to quit, do you?!"

Aegis stood up to his full height and readied his sword. Without words, he charged at an unimpressed Zaifer.

"Fine, we'll do it your way!"

"HAH!"

Zaifer spun around in time to block an attack from above and sneered at Longinus.

"Too slow…" muttered Zaifer. He pushed Longinus to one side and twirled his daggers around. The Recon easily side-stepped Aegis' attack and tried to swipe at him. The red-coated Keyblader swiftly blocked the attack and took a few steps back. Zaifer smirked.

"Here's a little trick a friend of mine taught me…_Tricky Illusion_!"

Figures rapidly spawned out from behind Zaifer as they quickly took shape. Across every beam and part of the catwalk, Longinus and Aegis were surrounded by shadowy figures. To their astonishment, those figures were exact replicas of the Recon, Zaifer. Their voices echoed simultaneously as they chuckled.

"What's wrong? This trick too much for ya?"

Aegis and Longinus went back to back as multiple Zaifers' eyes maliciously watched them.

"I hate clones…" muttered Aegis.

"You don't say…" breathed Longinus.

The Zaifers attacked. Quickly, Aegis and Longinus fended off every Zaifers' quick and deadly attacks. Each and every one would strike from several angles: above, below, left, right, and center. Their attacks were either illusions or the real blow as the Keybladers struggled to keep pace.

Longinus swung at an incoming Zaifer. To his shock, his Keyblade went right through it.

"What?!"

Without warning another Zaifer knocked his elbow into Longinus' back and he was pushed away from Aegis.

"Longinus!"

The boy regained his footing and stood alone as he held onto _Trans-Metal_. More Zaifers swirled around Longinus at a dizzying pace. They all mockingly eyed him with amusement as they circled the boy. Next, they attacked.

Longinus attempted to deflect a blow, but it was a feint. A whisper from his Keyblade echoed into his ear and he was lucky enough to deflect an attack from his right. Still, he was not fast enough to dodge one from the left.

Aegis skilfully dodged every attack that was thrown at him. He would turn away from the illusion in time to block several blows from behind. He was even lucky to punch one Zaifer in the nose. As if like a mirror, all of the Zaifers that attacked Aegis groaned with anger.

"Longinus! Focus!"

"Time to die!" echoed the Zaifers.

In one fell swoop, the Zaifers that swirled around Longinus dove in for the kill.

"Longinus!" cried Aegis.

Suddenly, Trans-Metal brightly flashed with power. Even Longinus' eyes glowed electrifying green.

"_Evolution Mind_!"

Longinus swiftly ducked on one knee and all the Zaifers shockingly missed over him.

"WHAT THE?!" echoed the Zaifers.

Longinus then struck backwards. A Zaifer was hit in the face and it faded away. Then Longinus kicked at one to his left. It lurched over and disappeared.

Strangely though, the boy allowed several Zaifers to pass right through him. After a fourth Zaifer went right through Longinus like a ghost, he smashed the fifth Zaifer's face with a backhanded blow over his shoulder. As the Zaifer reared back, Longinus dove at it and deeply jabbed his elbow into its stomach. The Zaifer gasped with utter pain and was thrown back onto a catwalk.

Then the other Zaifers disappeared just as Aegis slashed through one. The young man could not believe his eyes as he turned to Longinus.

The boy held his Keyblade steady in front of him and haggardly breathed. The Zaifer that still remained struggled to his feet with a bewildered stare.

"How…" coughed Zaifer, "did you do that?"

Longinus straightened himself as he held _Trans-Metal_ at the ready.

"_Trans-Metal_'s special ability, _Evolution Mind_, allows me to learn an enemy's move and use it against them…pretty handy to have, I'll say," smirked Longinus.

Zaifer wanted to throw more curses at Longinus, but he doubled over as he felt his stomach singe with pain. Aegis stepped forward and aimed his Keyblade at the Recon.

"Surrender…or I'll make life short for you, Recon," muttered Aegis. Zaifer growled and he pulled out a small glass canister with purple liquid.

"Make me…"

The Recon tossed the canister over his shoulder and broke into a sprint. The canister quietly dropped down to the earth as Zaifer grinned at it for a moment. Longinus and Aegis gave chase as Zaifer ran towards the end of the catwalk. He pulled out his communication device as he continued to run.

"Recon5, returning back to HQ!"

Instantly, Zaifer leapt off of the edge of the catwalk and flipped forward through the air. Longinus and Aegis skidded to a halt before they fell off. They silently watched Zaifer plummet down to the deep earth.

A beam of light tore through a cloud in the sky and struck Zaifer with an eerie blue glow. He turned around with a cocky grin and returned a two-fingered salute. Soon, he disappeared into a flash of blue light.

"Wait!" called after Longinus. Aegis held the boy back before he gave chase.

"Too late…he's long gone by now…"

*****

The canister with purple liquid twirled in the sky and landed across the hard ground with a crack. The object shattered as the liquid was spilt all over the concrete in a large purple blotch.

As if the spilt liquid was alive, it started to reach out to one side like a shadow. It crawled across the ground and slowly etched closer towards a clown doll that sat quietly nearby.

*****

"Come back here! Zaifer!" cried Longinus. Aegis held the boy back as he too eyed at the spot where Zaifer disappeared.

"He's gone…there's not much left to do here…" replied Aegis.

Longinus let out a solemn breath and turned away. Aegis' gaze lingered for one last moment and soon followed Longinus.

"Now what?" wondered Longinus. Aegis had nothing to say.

Suddenly the earth shook violently below them. The Ferris wheel dangerously swayed back and forth. Longinus and Aegis both latched themselves onto the wheel's beams and supports as a dull rumble rang out.

"What was that?!" cried Longinus. Aegis's turned around and his eyes widen.

"Jump!"

The two leapt off from the Ferris wheel just as a massive gloved fist punched right through it. The top half of the Ferris wheel was torn apart like paper-machete as debris and broken metal rained over the two Keybladers. Through the debris, they quickly leapt off of descending metal beams and safely landed onto a roof of a nearby building. Longinus and Aegis spun around and they felt the air left them on sight.

A giant clown doll grinned happily as strode forward in massive steps. The giant obliviously marched right through what was left of the Ferris wheel and slowly approached the two Keybladers.

"What is that thing?!" demanded Longinus.

"That Zaifer…he must have used a potion to possess this doll. Now it won't stop until we're dead!" growled Aegis.

Without warning, the clown threw an enormous fist at the two.

"RUN!" cried Aegis.

He shoved Longinus out of the way, just as the fist crashed down behind him. The building under their feet collapsed into rubble. Aegis fell into it before he had the chance to escape. Longinus fell onto the park road, away from the destroyed building, and struggled to his feet.

"AEGIS!"

*****

A loud explosion pulled at Miu's ear and she turned. Her eyes widen as she gasped with shock.

Far off in the distance, there stood a mighty humanoid giant. It started to demolish everything in its path with its giant fists. Clouds of smoke rose into the air as Miu's body shivered with fear.

"Longinus!" she shrieked.

Hannah perked her head up at the name. She stood up to her full height, right after she had comforted a crying little girl, and turned around. She tried to look for Miu, but she was no where around.

"Maddy, where's Miu?" she asked.

Maddy struggled to balance a heavy and unconscious person as he tried to lead him safely to one side.

"I'm a little busy!" he grunted.

"Hey wait! Miu!" cried Zeke. Hannah turned to Zeke's direction with a confused look. She gasped and she ran towards his direction.

"Miu, come back! It's too dangerous!" she called after. Too late.

Miu was already halfway running towards the towering giant.

*****

"Aegis! Where are you? Answer me!" cried Longinus.

The boy trudged through the devastated building in search of Aegis, the other Keyblader. Smoke and dust thicken the air around him. He desperately rummaged through various piles of stone.

"Aegis!"

"So…(Cough)…you finally got my name right…"

Longinus heard the voice and he froze where he stood. He turned to his left and spotted a young man sitting on the floor. He had his back against the remains of a wall and clutched his right arm with his left hand.

"Aegis! Are you alright?" asked Longinus as he approached him. Aegis chuckled, but stopped short from a sting in his injured arm.

"I'm fine…but looks like my arm has taken the brunt…" He could barely move his fingers as Longinus anxiously stared at him, "It's up to you to stop that thing…"

"But I can't–" uttered Longinus.

"Longinus!"

The boy's heart stopped cold. He turned around to see a very familiar girl with long sapphire hair and frightened orange eyes.

"M-Miu?!" he called. The girl was about to approach the boy, but the boy instantly broke into a run towards her.

"RUN!"

Longinus swiftly picked up Miu and they both leapt away to one side. A gigantic hand smashed down onto the ground, where Miu once stood at, and shook the earth. Longinus and Miu fell across the ground, safely away from the giant doll's attack. From the shockwave it knocked _Trans-Metal_ out of his hand and it struck into the ground.

"Miu…" uttered the girl. Longinus turned to Miu with a worried gaze.

"Are you alright?" he asked. She nodded as she sat up, still frightened. Longinus held her close for a short moment, relieved. He slowly pulled away and stood up to his feet.

"_Trans-Metal_," he called. The sword stuck in the ground vibrated at Longinus voice. It then pulled out of the ground and threw itself spinning into the air. The handle of the Keyblade landed into Longinus' open palm and he wielded it at the ready. He glared right at the giant clown doll as its grin stared down on him.

"I won't let you hurt anyone any more!" muttered Longinus. He took steady steps forward at the massive giant, "I won't let you hurt, Miu…" Miu gently breathed as a burning gold aurora hovered around Longinus, "I made a promise…to Miu and Nalziel…"

Finally, a shining sphere of gold flashed over Longinus head. The sphere slowly glowed as it took a solid form. It transformed into a unique gold and silver card with a crown-like edges across the top.

Aegis gasped and lurched forward with shock.

"A...Kingdom Card*?!"

Miu watched quietly as the card slowly lowered to hover in front of Longinus' face. He snatched it out of the air and held it in his left hand. His emerald green eyes glowed brightly as _Trans-Metal_ did the same.

"I plan to keep that promise!" With a loud cry, Longinus charged forward.

The clown doll grinned and threw its left fist down to the earth. Longinus dodged the attack with ease and swerved around the rain of flying debris. The doll struck again with its other fist and Longinus sprinted right under it. The attack missed him by an inch as he kicked off into the air. The boy landed across the doll's arm and ran up towards it. The doll's eyes lit up bright violet and fired a pair of purple laser beams across its arms. Longinus leapt forward and a silver white glow surrounded his hand.

"_Reflect Barricade_!"

A shining diamond dome magically appeared around him. The barrier easily reflected the doll's laser before it could touch the boy. Longinus instantly broke through his own defence and descended over onto the doll's fore-head. As soon as his foot touched between its eyebrows, he kicked off into the air again and spun rapidly.

Longinus ascended into the air, stopped his spin, and steadied himself in the air. He whipped out the Kingdom Card into his hand and held it above his head. Suddenly, a card visor snapped open across _Trans-Metal's_ hilt to reveal an engraving equal to the Kingdom Card's shape.

"_Final Destiny_!"

He swiped the card into the engraving and _Trans-Metal_ automatically sealed its visor shut. It flashed brilliantly with a rainbow glow and something miraculous happened.

A pair of shining golden wings of light burst open across Longinus' back.

Aegis slowly stood up to his feet and steadied his weight against another broken wall. He gazed at the majestic sigh in total awe. The very glow of Longinus' radiance made Aegis' blue eyes twinkle vividly.

"So…he's the one…the Destiny's Arbiter…" A smile crept across Aegis' face, "Who would have thought…"

Miu smiled as she was entranced by Longinus and his wings.

"You…can…do it…" she spoke, one bye one.

Longinus raised _Trans-Metal_ above his head as it glowed brightly with light.

"_Twilight Breaker_!"

A massive energy blade extended off from the Keyblade's edge and even practically cut through the sky. A large hole was punched right through a thick cloud and a rainbow halo circles the pillar of light.

In one fell swoop, Longinus charges downward in a descending spiral. The doll raised its eyes to the sky and suddenly fired a thick and deadly ray of violet light at the flying Keyblader.

Longinus glared as he held his sword firm before him and kept his pace steady. His wings flapped one last time before they covered Longinus' entire body. The wings folded over the boy, in the shape of a massive knife, and together with _Trans-Metal's_ power they sliced apart even the air.

The laser hit, but was instantly split into two peeling halves. Longinus dove right through the purple energy pillar and slashed right into the doll's head. In seconds, Longinus' shining dive tore right through the doll. The doll instantly shattered it onto two large halves.

The doll broke and fell into two separate pieces, but they instantly shrunk before they hit the ground. Soon, two halves of a small clown down tumbled across the ground.

Miu walked over to Aegis as he quietly stared up ahead. He silently watched as Longinus slowly hovered back to the ground. Miu smiled widely just as Longinus safely touched down to earth. His wings bursted into a shower of rainbow dust and the golden aurora faded away. When Longinus landed, Miu threw her arms around him and snuggled her head against his chest with joyous relief.

"Miu!" she giggled. Longinus grinned with a chuckle and lightly stroke Miu's head.

"I'm back…"

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Author's Notes**

**Feint:** A deceptive move to hide the real action. To fake an true action.

**Stalagmite:** Pointy rock formations that are ground across the cave floor.

**Kingdom Card:** A special card that derives from the card-battle-based game "Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memory".

**Trans-Metal Card Visor Mechanism:** This is based off of _**"Kamen Rider Ryuki"**_ and its Advent Visors and Cards reading system. Also has a mix of **_"Madan Warrior - Ryukendo"_** with Ryukendo's Madan Key mechanism.

**Trans-Metal's New Ability**

→_Evolution Mind:_ Allows the Keyblader to magically memorize a strong opponent's special move and use it against them.

→_Final Destiny [created by Emerald Sonata]:_ The wielder can invoke their Final Attack through the use of a Final Destiny Kingdom Card. Extremely powerful to eliminate enemy(s) in a single blow.


	10. KH4 Farewell

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******Any non-original Characters/Powers/Settings/Weapons will be tagged with '*' and will recieve proper detail and sourcing.**

**This is based after the timeline of "Kingdom Hearts II", made by Square-Enix and Disney.**

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**Kingdom Hearts IV – Dawn of Dusk**

**Chapter 9: Farewell**

Hannah sighed as she sat on a park bench. She held her knees close to her chin and nervously went over her thoughts. Maddy and Zeke sat together on what was left of a stall and quietly waited.

"I wonder if he's alright…" breathed Hannah.

Maddy scoffed, "Of course, it's Long we're talking about…"

"That's right, we should have confidence in him," added Zeke.

"Why thank you, everyone…"

They all sprung up from their seat and turned. Smiles of relief beamed across their faces as they watch Longinus and Miu approach them.

"You're back!" they exclaimed. Longinus sheepishly grinned and rubbed the back of his head. Miu happily grinned.

"Sorry to make you all worry…"

"Miu!"

Slowly, Aegis appeared from behind Longinus. Maddy's face went as white as a sheet. Without saying anything, he swiped up a nearby broken pipe and madly charged at Aegis. The young man merely stared calmly at the screaming attacker.

"EAT THIS!" cried Maddy.

"WAIT!"

A figure leapt in between Maddy and Aegis, just as Maddy swung the pipe down. The pipe had hit its mark, but it was not against Aegis.

He passively blinked at the stricken figure as Maddy stared with horror.

"S-sorry Long…"

Longinus held his posture as the pipe was planted across his forehead. He felt relieved that Maddy had refrain from using full force at the last minute. Still, his head throbbed from the knock on his skull.

"It's okay…" he whispered. Maddy nervously tossed the pipe to one side. Longinus gently rubbed his forehead and shook it off. He stood back up straight with a cheerful smile, "Don't worry everyone…Aegis promises not to destroy me…yet…"

Silence answered the boy's calmly spoken words. Aegis merely turned his gaze to one side.

"Don't get the wrong idea Longinus, when this is all over I'll be sure to come back for you…" uttered Aegis. He turned to leave.

"W-wait! Where are you going?!" asked Longinus.

"I've got a job to do and my work here on this World is done. I'm heading off to the next to stop Recon1-XI…"

"I'll come with you!"

Aegis spun around and threw a dark glare at Longinus, "Don't even think about it! I can handle this on my own!"

Longinus stepped forward with a determined look, "We are both Keybladers! We are both the guardians of Kingdom Hearts! If you're going off to save the other Worlds, then I should be doing the same as well!"

"Leave me be," grumbled Aegis.

"Look Artemis!" called Longinus.

"Aegis!" growled the irritated young man. He mumbled to himself, "Why can't he ever remember my name?"

"Sorry! Still I have to come!" persisted Longinus, "I want to find out who I am! I want to find out where I came from! I wanted to fulfill my promise to Nalziel!"

Aegis froze in his tracks. He turned to look over his shoulder at Longinus. His blue eyes silently watched the boy's emerald eyes.

"What promise?" he asked.

Longinus straightened, "I promised that I will save her sisters…and protect Miu…" Aegis merely returned his passive gaze.

Gently, a hand slipped into Longinus'. The boy turned to see Miu smile as she tenderly held onto his hand. He returned a grin and held her hand close to him as well.

Suddenly, a radiance of light shone brightly between them. They both looked down at Miu's crystal heart. It was brightly aglow with shining blue light. As if held by an invisible force, the crystal slowly levitated upward. It rose into the air as it carefully lifted off from around Miu's neck and suspended itself above everyone's head.

_Trans-Metal_ glowed as well and itself pulled up to Longinus' shoulder height. The boy then raised his Keyblade higher in the air and pointed at the floating crystal. The two resonated with one another. A grin stretched around Longinus as he took one step forward.

He twirled _Trans-Metal_ around and thrust the Keyblade back into the air. He pointed directly at the crystal and it fired off a beam of light. The beam struck the glowing aura of the crystal and it let loose another beam behind itself. The beam struck an invisible wall that was close to where Aegis stood.

A key shaped portal instantly opened up, a vortex of light swirled behind its doorway.

Hannah, Maddy, and Zeke blinked with astonishment. They stared at the portal that had just appeared before their very eyes.

"Uh…" uttered Maddy, "what…just…happen…"

"I…don't…know…" breathed Hannah.

Soon, _Trans-Metal_ disappeared into a flash of light from Longinus' hand. He looked at his empty hand and curled his fingers with a grin. The same thing went for Aegis, as _Guardian's Soul_ vanished into a flash of light. He raised his head and turned to look at Longinus.

"Well…you've done a good job in opening a portal," he said in a quiet tone, "I guess I can spare a chance to have a portal-opener come with me…"

Longinus sheepishly smiled and rubbed the back of his head, "Thank you. I'll try not to get in your way…"

"Miu!"

Longinus turned to Miu as she came up to him. She smiled widely and turned to the others. Longinus turned as well. There stood before him were his three best friends: Maddy, Zeke, and Hannah. The boy smiled and walked up to them.

"Thank you everyone…for holding out for me."

Maddy waved off the remark with a smirk, "Ah, no sweat! Besides we're your best pals!"

Hannah nodded, "That's right! We always look out for one another, especially you and Miu!" Miu could not help a shy smile.

Zeke chuckled, "It seems you have finally found what is necessary to find yourself…am I right?"

Hannah and Maddy turned to Zeke with a confused look. He calmly smiled.

"It's time for Longinus to go…"

Maddy slowly turned to Longinus and stared right into his emerald eyes. To Maddy's pain, truth lingered in them. Hannah turned as well and walked up to him. She was hesitant as she gazed deeply into Longinus' emerald eyes.

"You've…got to go now…don't you?" she asked. Longinus' smile was hinted with sorrow as he nodded. Hannah tried to smile, "it was something you've always talked about…about figuring out where you came from…"

"Yes…there is something I have to do…but in order for that to happen…I'll be leaving Oceana City for some time…"

Maddy had a dark and hostile look on his face.

"I can't believe you'll leave us behind just like that…you make me sick, you know that?"

Longinus lightly chuckled, "And I'll miss you too, Maddy…"

Maddy felt as if a knife stabbed his heart and he lurched away. He dared not show his face as a single drop of tear rolled down his cheek. Longinus watched him in understanding.

Hannah choked on approaching tears, "That means…we won't be together anymore…" Longinus turned to her as she fought back her sadness, "We…won't see you anymore…we won't talk with one another anymore…we…we…"

A pair of hands rested on Hannah's shoulder and she jumped with surprise. She looked up to stared directly into Longinus' eyes.

"I'm sorry to leave everyone with such short notice. I've made a promise to someone and I plan to keep it…And I promise to you…I'll come back and see you all again…"

Hannah breath was unsteady as she fought back her pain. Unable to withstand it, she let her tears out and tightly embraced Longinus with all her might. She bawled out her tears as she held onto him, not wanting to let him go.

That was when another pair of arms wrapped around both of them. Longinus turned and gazed at Miu. She solemnly smiled and she held both him and Hannah tighter with her arms.

Suddenly, two more people embraced the small huddle. Longinus blankly stared at Maddy and Zeke as they hugged him, Hannah, and Miu together. A drop of tear broke out of Longinus' eye as he could not help but wish to stay with them.

"I'm going to miss you, Longinus…" uttered Hannah.

"Best of luck to you, our friend…" smiled Zeke.

"Don't get yourself killed…a man has to keep to his promises…" muttered Maddy.

Longinus nodded as tears fell, "Thank you…"

Aegis turned away from the sight and merely stared at the ground. Without a word, a single bead of water fell onto the floor, right next to his shoes. He silently wiped away a patch of soot from under his right eye.

"If he is what King Mickey* said he'll be…then I hope I will see her free again very soon…"

Soon, Hannah, Maddy, and Zeke broke away from Longinus and Miu. They all stared at one another with both sad and cheerful faces. After a long and silent moment, Longinus slowly turned with Miu and strode off towards Aegis.

The three friends stood their ground, but their hearts urged them to chase after the fleeing image of Longinus. They wanted to call out his name, but their conscious knew it was better to not. Despite all the wishes they want to come true, they only wanted Longinus and Miu to stay.

"Longinus!" Maddy and Zeke turned to Hannah, who stood in between them. She ignored her conscious as she took one step forward, "we'll always be together, right?!"

Longinus came to a halt when he stood right behind Aegis. He and Miu turned to look at Hannah with quiet gazes. Maddy and Zeke turned to them as Hannah leaned forward for a hopeful answer.

Longinus smiled as his emerald green eyes and dawn-golden hair glimmered under the setting sun's rays.

"We'll always be together…by the power of our hearts."

Miu grinned and waved back, "Together! Always!"

A wide smile appeared on Hannah's face. Maddy and Zeke exchanged hopeful glances and hung their arms around one another.

After a smile, Longinus and Miu turned. Aegis merely glimpsed at them from off his shoulder. He then turned and stepped into the key-holed portal. He soon vanished in a flash of green light.

Longinus and Miu exchanged gazes at one another. They both smiled at one another and held each other's hands.

Together they leapt into the portal, where the world disappeared in a burst of light.

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**Author's Notes**

**King Mickey:** Disney's greatest mascot, Mickey Mouse. From the "Kingdom Hearts" series, he appears as a King who fights with Sora and his friends to save Kingdom Hearts.


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